A medication administration route is often classified by the location at which the drug is applied, such as oral or intravenous. The choice of routes in which the medications are applied depends not only on convenience but also on the drug’s properties and pharmacokinetics. Introduction A medication administration route is often classified by the location […]

The Metric System A primary function of government since the very beginning of governments is to derive a set of weights and measurements to facilitate the progress of commerce.  The differences between a shekel and a lira have been the center of controversy and even war for thousands of years.  In the 18th century, French […]

Solutions A solution is the combination of a solute and a solvent. The solute is the substance being dissolved (tea, coffee, or cool-aid). The solvent is the fluid that is used to dissolve the solute (usually water). Solutions are either represented by a ratio or a percent. Commonly called ‘Epi 1:1’. Since there is 1 […]

What Are We Even Talking About? Sometimes it is required to give so many cc’s per minute to a given patient. In order to give a certain amount of volume (in cc’s or ml), one needs to speak the language of the drip chamber. The drip chamber provides clinicians with the ability to deliver specific […]

Scenario: The on-line physician orders you to administer 80 mg of Lasix IV. On hand you have 100 mg in 10 cc’s. How many cc’s would you administer to give the ordered dose? This is a pretty easy problem if you a little algebra to solve the problem. Of course you could use a formula […]

So what if the Doctor orders you to administer an amount of fluid per hour based on weight?  This is not uncommon in pediatrics where aggressive fluid therapy can easily save a child’s’ life; the difference between hydration and fluid overload may be something in the neighborhood of 100cc.   Consider the following order: ORDERED:  Administer […]

Percentages Percent = amount present in 100 units of a solution.Solution = Solute + SolventSolvent = liquid dissolving a soluteSolute = Material being dissolved in the solution A drug is said to have a concentration of 100% when there is one gram in 1 cc (ml) of a solution (saline, D5, etc.). What is a […]

Medication administration would be a lot easier if the medication was just packaged in the exact amount that is needed. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Sometimes, medics need to only give half of the packaged amount. Sometimes, medics need to administer more than one package of a medication to a patient that is extremely […]

Introduction It’s just a little math, don’t freak out!  If there is anything that strikes fear in the heart of many paramedics, it would be calculating drug dosages and drip rates.   In reality, calculating a drug dose or drip rate uses mathematical principles that you should have learned by the time you were in the […]

Let’s look at a medication we give every day, D50. D50 is Dextrose 50% in water (sterile for injection, of course). To make D50, you take 25 grams of dextrose and add it to 50cc’s of water. Experiment: Make D25 out of D50 Equipment Needed 1- 50-60 cc syringe 1- pre-filled syringe of D50 1- […]