What should the nurse set the infusion pump to for a continuous infusion of Pancuronium at 25 mg/250 ml for a client weighing 78 kg at 0.1 mg/kg/hr?

To find the correct setting for the infusion pump, it's important to first determine the total hourly dosage of Pancuronium required for the client based on their weight. The client weighs 78 kg, and the prescribed rate is 0.1 mg/kg/hr. This means:

Total dosage per hour = Weight (kg) × Dosage rate (mg/kg/hr)

Total dosage per hour = 78 kg × 0.1 mg/kg/hr = 7.8 mg/hr

Next, we need to determine how much Pancuronium is in the provided solution of 250 ml. The concentration is 25 mg in 250 ml. To find out how many milligrams are present in 1 ml, the calculation is:

Concentration = Total amount (mg) / Total volume (ml)

Concentration = 25 mg / 250 ml = 0.1 mg/ml

Now, to deliver the required 7.8 mg/hr, we need to determine the volume of the solution that must be infused to achieve this dosage. We can use the concentration we derived:

Volume to infuse (ml/hr) = Dosage (mg/hr) / Concentration (mg/ml)

Volume to infuse (ml/hr