How this is calculated
Every figure the calculator reports can be re-derived from what follows. A number nobody can check is a number nobody should act on.
Glucose infusion rate
GIR = (rate mL/hr × carbohydrate %) ÷ (6 × weight kg)
A solution labelled "%" carries that many grams per 100 mL. Converting
grams to milligrams and hours to minutes is where the 6 comes from:
mL/hr × (% ÷ 100) × 1000 ÷ 60 ÷ kg.
Worked example — IV
D10W at 4 mL/hr, 1250 g baby
(4 × 10) ÷ (6 × 1.25) = 5.33 mg/kg/min
The same line delivers 76.8 mL/kg/day and 9.6 g of dextrose a day.
Feeds — volume
feeds per day = 24 ÷ interval hours
mL/day = volume per feed × feeds per day
mL/hr = volume per feed ÷ interval hours
A bolus feed is averaged across the day so it can be added to continuous infusions.
Worked example — feed
20 mL q3h, 1500 g baby, 7% carbohydrate
24 ÷ 3 = 8 feeds/day
20 × 8 = 160 mL/day = 6.67 mL/hr
(6.67 × 7) ÷ (6 × 1.5) = 5.19 mg/kg/min
That 160 mL always counts towards the day's fluid: 160 ÷ 1.5 = 106.7 mL/kg/day.
Feeds — glucose
Total GIR = IV GIR + feeds switched on
Enteral GIR is shown either way
GIR conventionally means intravenous glucose, so a feed stays out of the total until you switch it on for that line. Enteral GIR is an estimate: carbohydrate content varies with fortification and batch, and what is absorbed is not what goes down the tube.
Daily fluid
mL/kg/day = (rate mL/hr × 24) ÷ weight kg
mL/hr = (mL/kg/day × weight kg) ÷ 24
Every route counts towards the day's fluid, feeds included.
Totals
Total rate = sum of every line's mL/hr
Carbohydrate = sum of every line's g/day
Mean IV dextrose = IV grams ÷ IV volume × 100
Mean dextrose covers the infusions only. Its purpose is to be checked against what a peripheral line will take, and a feed would only dilute it.
Reference bands
Below 4 mg/kg/min is under the usual maintenance range; 4–8 is the usual range; 8–12 is elevated, and common when treating hypoglycaemia; 12 and above warrants review. A single infusion above 12.5% dextrose is flagged because that is roughly what a peripheral cannula tolerates — feeds never raise that flag, since milk does not go through a cannula.
These are common conventions rather than rules. Your unit's protocol and the baby in front of you take precedence.