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Common Drips Quick Card
The vasoactive and sedation drips you'll actually hang, with typical adult ranges and the one thing to watch on each.
Free · print it · share it · no gatekeeping
Pressors & inotropes
- Norepinephrine
- 0.01–0.5 mcg/kg/min · first line in septic shock · watch digits/extravasation
- Phenylephrine
- 25–200 mcg/min · pure alpha · reflex bradycardia expected
- Vasopressin
- 0.03 units/min fixed · add-on, not titrated up
- Epinephrine
- 0.01–0.5 mcg/kg/min · watch lactate and tachyarrhythmias
- Dobutamine
- 2–20 mcg/kg/min · inotrope, can DROP the blood pressure
Antihypertensives
- Nicardipine
- 5–15 mg/hr · smooth control, no reflex tach
- Esmolol
- 50–200 mcg/kg/min · ultra-short half-life, great for a trial
- Nitroglycerin
- 5–200 mcg/min · headache is the tell
Sedation & analgesia
- Propofol
- 5–50 mcg/kg/min · hypotension, apnea, watch triglycerides >48 hr
- Precedex
- 0.2–1.4 mcg/kg/hr · no respiratory depression, but bradycardia/hypotension
- Fentanyl
- 25–200 mcg/hr · accumulates in renal/hepatic dysfunction
- Ketamine
- 0.1–0.5 mg/kg/hr · preserves drive, watch secretions and emergence
Other must-knows
- Insulin
- Titrate per protocol · check glucose q1h until stable
- Heparin
- Per weight-based nomogram · aPTT or anti-Xa per policy
- Amiodarone
- 150 mg over 10 min → 1 mg/min ×6 hr → 0.5 mg/min ×18 hr
Baddie pearls 👑
- ✦Always confirm concentration, not just rate — the bag is the most common error.
- ✦Pressors need a good line. Central preferred; if peripheral, document the site check.
- ✦Every titration needs a target written down (MAP >65, RASS −2). Titrating to vibes is how you get called.
Educational reference only. Always follow your facility's current policies, protocols, and provider orders.
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