Edited by: HN Khalil Ahmed Jatt
If we have to infuse 1000 international units (IU) of injection heparin per hour, what would be the ml per hour rate and would we infuse it?
Availability
Injection Heparin is usually available as a 25,000 IU/5ml vial.Dilution and Concentration
Dilution
Inj. Heparin should be diluted as 2 ml Heparin in 98 ml Normal Saline. Hence, we would have 10,000 IU of Heparin in 100ml of solution.
Concentration
If we look at the concentration of heparin in 1 ml, then we will use the below formula to identify the units of heparin in 1 ml:
= 100 Units/ml
OR
If the physician prescribes Inj. Heparin at the rate of 1000 Units/hr, then:
= 100 Units/ml
Formula to be used
We would use the Universal Formula (Wilson, 2013) as shared by (Nursing Center, 2021): OR
If the physician prescribes Inj. Heparin at the rate of 1000 Units/hr, then:
= 10 ml/hr.
10 ml comprises 1000 Units of heparin. Hence, the patient will get an accurate dose if we would administer the solution at the rate of 10ml/hour.
If an infusion pump is not available to administer this dose, we may use an IV chamber with a drop factor of 60 drops/ ml. Because ml/ hour and drops per minute rate is the same in an IV chamber with a drop factor of 60 drops/ml. We would administer the heparin solution at a rate of 10 drops/minute.
Never infuse the above-mentioned dose through a drip set with a drop factor of 20 drops/ml. Because the drops/minute rate would be 3.33 drops/minute that is nearly impossible to administer accurately.
Last updated on 11th March 2021
10 ml comprises 1000 Units of heparin. Hence, the patient will get an accurate dose if we would administer the solution at the rate of 10ml/hour.
If an infusion pump is not available to administer this dose, we may use an IV chamber with a drop factor of 60 drops/ ml. Because ml/ hour and drops per minute rate is the same in an IV chamber with a drop factor of 60 drops/ml. We would administer the heparin solution at a rate of 10 drops/minute.
Never infuse the above-mentioned dose through a drip set with a drop factor of 20 drops/ml. Because the drops/minute rate would be 3.33 drops/minute that is nearly impossible to administer accurately.
Last updated on 11th March 2021
References
- Nursing Center (2021) Common Calculations | Nursing Pocket Card. Available at: https://www.nursingcenter.com/clinical-resources/nursing-pocket-cards/common-calculations (Accessed: 11 March 2021).
- Wilson, K. M. (2013). The nurse's quick guide to IV drug calculations. Nursing made Incredibly Easy, 11(2), 1-2.
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