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Dosage Calculations
Dosage Calculations
DOSAGE CALCULATIONS
(INTERPRETING DRUG PRESCRIPTIONS)
Three systems of measurement are used
Ex: Caps. Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) 25 mg
during the calculation, preparation, and
q4h po
administration of medicines.
o Interpretation: “Give the client one 25
METRIC SYSTEM mg capsule by mouth every 4 hours”
Ex: Elixir acetaminophen (Elixir Tylenol) 80 mg
Was invented in France in the late 18th tid pc and at bedtime po
century o Interpretation: “Give 80 mg of elixir
Most widely used system of measure acetaminophen by mouth three times
Based on decimal system, so all units are a day after meals and at bedtime.”
determined as multiples of 10
gram as basic unit of solid(weight) AMOUNT/DOSAGE
liter as basic unit of liquid volume
meter as basic unit of length
1 g = 1000 mg
1 kg = 1000 g
1 L = 1000 mL
1 mg = 1000 mcg
HOUSEHOLD SYSTEM
TIMING OF ADMINISTRATION
Measuring system that is found in recipe
books
Primarily used by patients who take
medication at home, however they are least
accurate.
Teaspoon as basic unit of fluid measure
Pound as basic unit of solid measure
1 quart = 4 cups
1 pint = 2 cups
1 med size glass = 8 ounces
1 teacup = 6 ounces VALUES OF SINGLE ROMAN NUMBERS
1 tablespoon = 3 teaspoons
1 teaspoon = approximately 5 ml
APOTHECARY SYSTEM
𝑋 = 𝟐 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒔
RATIO AND PROPORTION
𝑋 = 𝟓𝟎 𝒎𝒈
FOR LIQUID PROBLEM #3
The order is for Potassium Chloride (KCl)20 The order is penicillin 50,000 units. The vial
mEq. The bottle is labeled KCl elixir 10 reads penicillin 500,000 units. Add 4.3 mL to
mEq/mL. How many mL. will be given? yield 5mL.
PROBLEM #1 MACRODROP
The adult dose is 100 mg/mL. Demerol. The child More commonly used in adult IVF
weighs 20kg and is 40 inches tall. BSA is 0.77m2 In order to calculate the flow rate, need to
know the drop factor: 10, 15, or 20 gtt/mL
= (0.77 𝑚2 × 100 𝑚𝑔/𝑚𝑙)/(1.73 𝑚2)
Company Name Drop Factor (gtt/mL) 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 (𝑚𝐿 )𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑒 × 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑝 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟
Abbott 15 𝑔𝑡𝑡𝑠 min =
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑠)
Baxter International 10
B. Braun 15 Directions:
IVAC 20
Use a drop factor of 15 gtt/mL for volumes of
CALCULATION OF FLOW RATES
100 mL or more per hour
Use a microdrip (60gtt/mL) for volumes below
MILLILITERS PER HOUR (ML/HR) 100/hr
𝑚𝐿 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝐿 𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑
= PROBLEM #3
ℎ𝑟 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑢𝑛
Health Care Providers Order Duration of
Rate (gtt/min) Infusion
MILLILITERS PER MIN (ML/MIN) 125 mL D5W 60 min 31 gtts/min
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝐿 𝑜𝑟 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 100 mL LR 60 min 25 gtts/min
𝑚𝐿/ min = 50 mL 0.9 NaCI 20 min 150 gtts/min
𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑢𝑛
PROBLEM #1 SOLUTIONS
Infuse 1000 mL Lactated Ringer’s (LR) solution over 125 𝑚𝑙 × 15 𝑔𝑡𝑡𝑠/𝑚𝑙 1,875 𝑔𝑡𝑡𝑠
1. =
10 hours. 60 𝑚𝑖𝑛 60 𝑚𝑖𝑛
= 31.2 𝑜𝑟 𝟑𝟏 𝒈𝒕𝒕𝒔/𝒎𝒊𝒏
1000 𝑚𝑙
100 𝑚𝑙 × 15 𝑔𝑡𝑡𝑠/𝑚𝑙 1,500 𝑔𝑡𝑡𝑠
10 ℎ𝑟𝑠 2. = = 𝟐𝟓 𝒈𝒕𝒕𝒔/𝒎𝒊𝒏
60 𝑚𝑖𝑛 60 𝑚𝑖𝑛
= 𝟏𝟎𝟎 𝒎𝒍/𝒉𝒓
50 𝑚𝑙 × 60 𝑔𝑡𝑡𝑠/𝑚𝑙 3,000 𝑔𝑡𝑡𝑠
3. = = 𝟏𝟓𝟎 𝒈𝒕𝒕𝒔/𝒎𝒊𝒏
60 𝑚𝑖𝑛 60 𝑚𝑖𝑛
PROBLEM #2
Health Care Providers Order Duration of
PROBLEM #4
Rate (mL/hr) Infusion
1000 mL 5% dextrose The order is for 1000mL NS over 8 hours; drop factor
12 hrs 83 mL/hr
in water is 10 gtt/mL.
1000 mL Lactated
6 hrs 166 mL/hr
Ringer’s 1000 𝑚𝑙 × 10 𝑔𝑡𝑡𝑠/𝑚𝑙
500 mL 0.9 sodium =
4 hrs 125 mL/hr 480 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑠 (8 ℎ𝑟𝑠 × 60 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑠 = 480 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑠)
chloride
10,000 𝑔𝑡𝑡𝑠
= = 20.83 𝑜𝑟 𝟐𝟏 𝒈𝒕𝒕𝒔/𝒎𝒊𝒏
SOLUTIONS 480 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑠
1000 𝑚𝑙 The same formula can be used for Ivs
1. = 83.3 𝑜𝑟 𝟖𝟑 𝒎𝒍/𝒉𝒓
12 ℎ𝑟𝑠 requiring microdrip rates or the following
formula can be used.
1000 𝑚𝑙
2. = 166.6 𝑜𝑟 𝟏𝟔𝟔 𝒎𝒍/𝒉𝒓 mL/hr = Microdrops/min
6 ℎ𝑟𝑠
Microdrop – 60 microgtts/ml
500 𝑚𝑙 Hour is 60 mins
3. = 𝟏𝟐𝟓 𝒎𝒍/𝒉𝒓
4 ℎ𝑟𝑠
PROBLEM #5
CALCULATING RATES OF INFUSION FOR
OTHER THAN 1 HOUR Order is for 1000 mL D5S over 24 hours. Drop factor is
60 gtt/ml.
𝑚𝐿/ℎ𝑟
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑒 × 60 𝑚𝑖𝑛/1 ℎ𝑟 1,000 𝑚𝑙 × 60 𝑔𝑡𝑡𝑠/𝑚𝑙
= =
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 1,440 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑠 (24 ℎ𝑟𝑠 × 60 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑠)
1200 𝑚𝐿 1 𝑚𝐿 12 𝑔𝑡𝑡
= × ×
48 ℎ𝑟𝑠 60 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑚𝐿
14400 𝑔𝑡𝑡
= = 𝟑𝟎 𝒈𝒕𝒕/𝒎𝒊𝒏
480 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑠