In the past our labor and delivery unit had prepared
oxytocin at a concentration of 20 units/L. With this concentration,
the displayed rate on the infusion pump did
not numerically match the dose of oxytocin that was being
infused. For every 3.0 mL/hr of infusion, only 1.0 milliunit
of oxytocin was infused per minute. This was thought to
be ambiguous and a potential source for medication errors.
Therefore our unit changed the oxytocin concentration as
part of the HCA’s standardized oxytocin dosing protocol.
The concentration of oxytocin was changed to 30 units of
oxytocin per 500mL of intravenous fluid. The concentration
was standardized so that the infusion rate was numerically
equivalent to the oxytocin delivery rate (i.e., 1.0mL/hr = 1.0
milliunit/min). As a result, the standardized dosing related
to postpartum oxytocin administration also changed. In the
past a 1 liter infusion of normal saline with 40 units of
oxytocin was given postpartum, and this was changed to a
postpartum 500mL infusion of normal saline containing 30
units of oxytocin.