A nurse is preparing to administer lidocaine 2.5 mg/min to a client by continuous IV infusion. Available is lidocaine 1 g in dextrose 5% in water 250 mL. The nurse should set the IV pump to deliver how many mL/hr? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)

Convert the available medication from grams (g) to milligrams (mg). 1 g = 1000 mg. Determine the concentration of the available lidocaine solution in milligrams per milliliter (mg/mL). Available concentration = Total medication (mg) / Total volume (mL) = 1000 mg / 250 mL = 4 mg/mL. Convert the desired dose from milligrams per minute (mg/min) to milligrams per hour (mg/hr). 1 hr = 60 min Desired dose in mg/hr = 2.5 mg/min × 60 min/hr = 150 mg/hr. Calculate the IV pump rate in milliliters per hour (mL/hr). IV pump rate (mL/hr) = Desired dose (mg/hr) / Available concentration (mg/mL) = 150 mg/hr / 4 mg/mL = 37.5 mL/hr. Round the answer to the nearest whole number. = 38 mL/hr.