User's Manual

Table Of Contents
27 Using the Drug Calculator
338
Accessing the Drug Calculator
To access the Drug Calculator, select Main Setup then Calculations followed by Drug Calculator, or
select the
Drug Calc SmartKey, if configured.
Performing Drug Calculations
Using the service Support Tool, a list of drugs can be configured for the monitor containing pre-
defined dosage recommendations and unit settings. Selecting the arrow beside the drug name in the
Drug Calculator window opens a list of configured drugs. Contact your pharmacist if you have any
questions about the drugs in the list.
If
ANY DRUG is the only entry in the list of drugs, no drugs have been pre-configured for your
monitor. Drug calculations can be performed for non-specific drugs.
You must have a Support Tool to add additional drugs to the Drug Calculator.
About the Rule of Six
If the Rule of Six has been enabled for use with individual drugs in your Drug Calculator, you can use
the formula in crisis situations to quickly calculate the amount of a drug needed to yield a target dose
for continuous infusion for neonatal or pediatric patients (the drug amount is given in "mg", the
patient weight in "kg"). The Rule of Six can only be used with the dose unit mcg/kg/min.
CAUTION
JCAHO recommends disabling the Rule of Six. The configuration is not JCAHO-compliant if Rule of
Six is enabled.
The Drug Calculator uses the following formula for Rule of Six calculations, based on the patient's
weight:
For a target dose of 0.1 mcg/kg/min, the Drug Calculator multiplies 0.6 x patient weight to
calculate the amount you need to add to the IV solution to equal a total of 100 ml.
For a target dose of 1.0 mcg/kg/min, the Drug Calculator multiplies 6.0 x patient weight to
calculate the amount you need to add to the IV solution to equal a total of 100 ml.