Care Manager Certification Practice Exam

A nurse is caring for a client who has a deep vein thrombosis and is prescribed heparin by continuous IV infusion at 1,200 units/hr. How many mL/hr should the nurse set the IV pump to deliver?

1. 12 mL/hr

2. 24 mL/hr

3. 30 mL/hr

4. 36 mL/hr

The correct answer is: 24 mL/hr

To determine the volume in milliliters per hour that the nurse should set the IV pump to deliver for a continuous heparin infusion, it is crucial to know the concentration of the heparin solution available for infusion. While the details about the concentration were not provided in the question, the answer suggests a common concentration often used. For instance, if we assume that the heparin is available at a concentration of 50 units per mL, we can calculate the required flow rate: 1. Given a prescription of 1,200 units/hr, the nurse would divide the total units prescribed by the concentration of the heparin solution: 1,200 units/hr ÷ 50 units/mL = 24 mL/hr. Thus, setting the IV pump to 24 mL/hr would accurately deliver the prescribed dose of heparin. This coherent relationship between the unit measurement of the medication (units of heparin) and the volume of the diluent (mL of solution) illustrates why this choice is the right one when correctly considering the concentration of the heparin infusion. If the concentration were different, a new calculation would be performed based on that specific concentration. However, typically, 50 units/m