Heparin Infusion Rate: Calculation & Safe Dosing for Healthcare Professionals

Heparin is an anti-coagulant that prevents the formation of blood clots in the veins, arteries and lungs, and is also used after surgery to reduce the risk of blood clots. It can be administered in a drip fashion, which is a slow, drop-by-drop infusion of a liquid. Calculating the proper drip rate requires a skill possessed only by a skilled health-care professional, utilizing both the proper dosage and precise calculation.

Things You'll Need

• Heparin IV drip bag
• IV infusion pump

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Instructions

• 1

  Look at packing of heparin and locate the drip factor (expressed as gtt/ml).

• 2

  Convert hours to minutes (i.e. one hour, for calculation purposes, equals sixty minutes).

• 3

  Convert volume to milliliters (if not expressed as such). To convert easily, multiply any number in liters by 1000 to get the equivalent expressed in milliliters.

• 4

  Plug all the numbers you've combined into the following formula:

  (total number of milliliters/total number of minutes) x (drip factor) = drip rate (gtt/min)