CIS 1.5 (Science Section)

Brooklyn College

Professor Langsam

 

Assignment #2

 

IV Drip Calculations

C:\Users\Dr. Yedidyah Langsam\Desktop\Dopamine.png

Dopamine is a hormone and neurotransmitter found naturally in humans. In addition, dopamine is often used as a medication that acts on the sympathetic nervous system, producing effects such as increased heart rate and blood pressure.

C:\Users\Dr. Yedidyah Langsam\Desktop\man_on_an_iv.jpg

 

 

 

Paramedics treat patients who are in cardiogenic shock by adding 200mg of dopamine to 250ml of IV saline fluid yielding a concentration of 800µg/ml (.8mg/ml). The fluid is then dripped into the patient’s bloodstream intravenously. The dose given to the patient is 5‑10µg/kg/min.

 

 

 

 

In order to calculate the desired drip rate, the following formula is used:

 

 

 

where:

            GTT = drops

            # of drops in a ml = 60gtt/ml

            concentration on hand in ml = .8mg/ml

 

 

Example:

 

Assume an 80kg individual is to be given 5µg/kg/min, then:

 

 

and the drip rate would be:

 

 

 

You are to write a program that will act as dopamine drip calculator.

 

 

Part I

 

Write an interactive program that prompts the user for the patient’s weight (in kg) and the desired dose and calculates the desired number of drops per minute. You may assume that the number of drops in a ml is always 60gtt/ml and that the concentration on hand is always .8mg/ml. However, your program must check that the desired dose is within the range of 5-10µg/kg/min.

 

Sample:

 

Enter the desired dose in mcg/kg/min.

Enter an integer between 5 and 10: 20

 

Too large. Try again.

Enter an integer between 5 and 10: 5

 

Enter the patient's weight in kg: 80

 

Administer 30 drops per minute

 

Data:

 

5          80

10        80

25        80

5          100

1          100

10        70

 

 

Part II

 

Rewrite the program of Part I, so that given a patient’s weight it produces a table as follows:

 

Sample:

 

Enter the patient's weight in kg: 80

 

Dose (mg/kg/min)        GTT per minute

 

5                                  30

6                                  36

7                                  42

8                                  48

9                                  54

10                                60

 

Data:

 

80

75

50

 

 

 

Be sure your program is neatly formatted and commented as discussed in class. All output is to go to both the console (screen) as well as to a file.