Place the steps for starting a prescribed magnesium sulfate maintenance infusion for severe preeclampsia in order.
Ordered Response
Choose your responses, then check the answer.
Explanation
Assessment comes first, followed by concentration verification, rate calculation and programming, active monitoring, and toxicity response when indicated.
Quick answer Use assess - verify concentration - calculate and program - monitor - stop for toxicity.
Why this is correct 20 g in 500 mL is 0.04 g/mL or 40 mg/mL. A 2-g hourly dose therefore requires 50 mL/hr. Renal impairment increases magnesium accumulation risk, so reflexes, respirations, output, and levels are essential.
Easy analogy or mental picture Check the client before the bag, solve the bag before the pump, then keep watching the client.
NCLEX decision rule Calculation is not complete until the pre-infusion safety assessment and post-programming monitoring are linked to it.
Why the other choices are wrong Programming before assessment can deliver magnesium into impaired clearance, while delayed response to depressed breathing or reflexes permits toxicity to progress.
References
1DailyMed: Magnesium Sulfate in Water for InjectionOne-to-two-gram hourly maintenance, reflex and respiratory monitoring, and renal maximum
Magnesium infusion sequenceVerify renal clearance, urine output, reflexes, respirations, bag concentration, g/hr order, mL/hr setting, and toxicity response supplies.