A nurse is preparing to administer dopamine 5 mcg/kg/min by continuous IV infusion to a client who weighs 220 lb. Available is 400 mg of dopamine in 250 ml of 0.9% sodium chloride. The nurse should set the IV pump to deliver how many mL/hr?

To calculate the IV pump rate for dopamine infusion, we must first convert the client's weight to kg (1 lb = 0.45 kg). Therefore, 220 lb = 100 kg. The next step is to calculate the total dose of dopamine needed per minute (5 mcg/kg/min x 100 kg = 500 mcg/min). To determine the infusion rate in ml/hr, we need to convert mcg/min to mg/hr (500 mcg/min = 0.5 mg/min). Then, we divide the total dose (400 mg) by the total volume (250 ml) to get the concentration (400 mg/250 ml = 1.6 mg/ml). Finally, we divide the total dose per minute (0.5 mg/min) by the concentration (1.6 mg/ml) to get the infusion rate in ml/hr (0.5 mg/min ├À 1.6 mg/ml = 0.3125 ml/min or 18.