277
26
26Using the Drug Calculator
Drug mixtures for intravenous (IV) drug infusions combine information on drug dose, rate, amount,
volume, concentration, and standardized rate. The Drug Calculator helps you to manage infusions by
calculating one of these values at a time.
*Be aware that your hospital may use either ‘µg’ or ‘mcg’ as an abbreviation for microgram. These
abbreviations are equivalent.
WARNING Before you administer any drug, always check that the correct calculation units and patient category are
selected. Consult your pharmacy if you have questions.
Decisions on the choice and dosage of drugs administered to patients must always be made by the
physician in charge. The Drug Calculator performs calculations based on the values input during use,
it does not check the plausibility of the calculations performed.
Accessing the Drug Calculator
♦ To access the Drug Calculator, select Main Setup -> Calculations ->
Drug Calculator, or select the Drug Calculator SmartKey, if
configured.
Te rm Definition Units
Dose
total quantity of drug to be delivered to the
patient over time
amount units per time or per kg/
time, if the drug is weight-dependent
Rate
volume of the mixture to be delivered to the
patient over time
ml/hour
Amount
amount of drug to be added to diluent to
make up a mixture
ng, mcg*, mg, g, mUnit, Unit, where
g stands for gram
Volume
quantity of mixture of diluent and drug ml
Concentration
ratio of the amount of drug to the solution
volume
amount units per ml
Standardized
Rate
1ml volume of the mixture to be delivered to
the patient per hour
ml/hr