Question

1) If one 10mL vial contains 0.05 g of diltiazem, how many milliliters should be administered to provide a 25mg dose of diltiazem?

2) A patient will receive 400 mg of a drug that has been put in a 250 mL IV bag. The rate of drug administration is 375 micrograms per minute. Calculate the flow rate in mL per hour. Round to the nearest whole number.

3) SJ is a female patient in the internal medicine unit receiving treatment following a motor vehicle accident. Her medications include lorazepam, morphine, and phenytoin. Her serum albumin is 1.8 g/dL and her measured phenytoin level is 9.6 mg/L. Calculate SJ's corrected phenytoin level. Round to the nearest one decimal place.

Answer 1

1.

10 mL of diltiazem = 0.05 g of diltiazem

Hence, the conversion factor for g of diltiazem to mL of diltiazem = 10 mL/0.05 g

Now,

1 mg = 0.001 g

Therefore,

25 mg of dilitiazem = 25 mg x (0.001 g/1 mg) = 0.025 g of dilitiazem

Thus,

0.025 g of diltiazem = (10 mL/0.05 g) x 0.025 g = 5 mL of diltiazem

Hence, 5 milliliters should be administered to provide a 25 mg dose of diltiazem.