An adolescent with meningococcal meningitis is receiving a continuous IV infusion of penicillin G, which is prescribed as 20 million units in a total volume of 2 liters of normal saline every 24 hours. The pharmacy delivers 10 million units/liter of normal saline. How many mL/hour should the nurse program the infusion pump? (Enter numeric value only. If rounding is required, round to the nearest whole number.)

Here's how to calculate the infusion pump rate (mL/hour) for the penicillin G administration: We know: Total penicillin G dose: 20 million units (given) Total volume of saline solution: 2 liters (given) = 2000 mL (convert liters to mL) Penicillin G concentration in saline delivered by pharmacy: 10 million units/liter (given) We need to find: Infusion rate (mL/hour) Steps: Calculate the concentration of penicillin G in the final infusion solution: We cannot directly add the penicillin G units to the saline volume because they represent different quantities. Penicillin G is measured in units, while saline volume is measured in liters (or mL). We need to find the total volume of saline containing the prescribed dose of penicillin G: We know the total penicillin G dose (20 million units) and the concentration of penicillin G in the saline delivered by pharmacy (10 million units/liter). Volume of saline containing the dose (liters) = Total penicillin G dose (units) / Concentration of penicillin G in saline (units/liter) Volume of saline containing the dose (liters) = 20 million units / 10 million units/liter Volume of saline containing the dose (liters) = 2 liters (This confirms we received the correct concentration from the pharmacy to deliver the prescribed dose) 3. Calculate the infusion rate based on the total volume of the solution and infusion time: Total infusion time: 24 hours (given) Infusion rate (mL/hour) = Total volume of solution (mL) / Infusion time (hours) Infusion rate (mL/hour) = 2000 mL / 24 hours Infusion rate (mL/hour) = 83.3 mL/hour (round to nearest whole number) Therefore, the nurse should program the infusion pump to deliver 83 mL/hour.