Dopamine & You

We have dopamine here but it doesn't get used much. Usually the transport times are too short to get in a bolus and start a drip before arriving.
Its not that hard if you can remember some facts and ratios.
Double your concentration until you get mg/1000ml
Remember that mg/1000ml = mcg/ml. Divide by 1000

eg: 400mg/500ml = 800mg/1000ml = 800,000mcg/1000ml = 800mcg/1ml

Convert your lbs to kgs, divide by 2 and take away 10% and round off. You're estimating weight anyway why work with an odd number like 59.

eg: 130lb/2 = 65 - 6.5 = 58.5kg, round to 60kg.

Multiply your wt in kg by your desired dose.

eg:60kg x 5mcg/kg/min = 300mcg/min

60gtt/min = 1ml/min. Original concentration was 800mcg/1ml which is equal TO the following. All the following are the same strength. Just add the numbers you need to get your dose and gtt amount.

800mcg = 60gtt (1ml)
400mcg = 30gtt (.5ml)
200mcg = 15gtt (.25ml)
100mcg = 7.5gtt (.125)
50mcg = 3.75gtt (.0625)

200 mcg 15gtt
+100 mcg +7.5gtt
----- -----
300 mcg 22.5gtt / min

Round to 23. If you can keep it to one drop every two seconds in a moving truck you are probably doing good. At this strength 30gtt/min equals about 6.7 mcg/kg/min. Which is not a lot different than your desired dose.

Remember you are guessing the pts wt anyway and are likely to be wrong. You are in the back of a moving, bouncing truck. Any free hanging drip will not be accurate. If your medical director is that concerned about the drip dose in a bouncing truck they would mandate a pump. We don't have pumps for field use on calls but all our transfers with drips are on pumps.
 
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My way is pt weight in pounds divided by 10 and subtract 2. that starts you out at 5mcgs.

Example. 100lb/10=10-2=8. thats the drip rate for 5mcgs.

also where is everyone coming up with these HUGE dopamine doses? For a 100kg pt at 20 mcg you should only be dripping 75ml/hr
 
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this thread is 3 years old
 
marineman said:
this thread is 3 years old
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So?
It is still on my ambulance.


And when a user DOES use the Search function, it makes KEVD18's blood pressure drop 5 points. :)

Jon
 
We are taught the drop -1 method.

234lbs, drop last number, subtract one to get 5mcg/kg/min. And that is for a concentration of 1600mcg. (400mg in 250cc, or 800 in a 500cc bag)

So for 5mcg/mg/min for that 234lb pt, 22gtts/min is what you would set it at.

Is that exactly 5mcg/kg/min? No. But it comes pretty darn close.
 
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