Author Question: If an IV solution, medicated or unmedicated, falls behind or gets ahead of the ordered schedule, ... (Read 21 times)

londonang

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 540
If an IV solution, medicated or unmedicated, falls behind or gets ahead of the ordered schedule, what should and shouldn't the nurse do? What are some of the concerns?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

An IV of 1000 mL at 100 mL per hr is started at 1200 hours. At 1800 hours, 400 mL have been infused. How many mL should have been infused? How could this have been prevented?
 
  What will be an ideal response?



aidanmbrowne

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 305
Answer to Question 1

The nurse should not automatically readjust the flow rate. The prescriber orders the flow rate based upon the contents of the IV, patient heart, lung and renal function, diagnoses, and purpose of the IV, among other things. There are no approved catch- up formulas for any patient. The nurse is not prepared to evaluate all this. The patient condition must be assessed for symptoms of fluid or medication overload or underload. It's best to consult the prescriber promptly about ad-justments. Even abruptly slowing down a medicated IV can cause problems. Never open the IV to full flow to catch up.

Answer to Question 2

600 mL should have been infused. Monitoring IV infusion rates and volume infused frequently, at least every hour or more often, and during every visit to bedside, can prevent this type of error.



Related Topics

Need homework help now?

Ask unlimited questions for free

Ask a Question
 

Did you know?

The term pharmacology is derived from the Greek words pharmakon("claim, medicine, poison, or remedy") and logos ("study").

Did you know?

Cancer has been around as long as humankind, but only in the second half of the twentieth century did the number of cancer cases explode.

Did you know?

More than one-third of adult Americans are obese. Diseases that kill the largest number of people annually, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, stroke, and hypertension, can be attributed to diet.

Did you know?

The eye muscles are the most active muscles in the whole body. The external muscles that move the eyes are the strongest muscles in the human body for the job they have to do. They are 100 times more powerful than they need to be.

Did you know?

Vampire bats have a natural anticoagulant in their saliva that permits continuous bleeding after they painlessly open a wound with their incisors. This capillary blood does not cause any significant blood loss to their victims.

For a complete list of videos, visit our video library