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Dosage Calculation

The document provides information on dosage calculations including conversions, terminology used in medication administration, and the formula for calculating dosages. It explains that the formula is Desired/Have x Vehicle, where Desired is the amount ordered, Have is the amount on hand, and Vehicle is the form it comes in. It then provides examples of using the formula to calculate the number of tablets, milliliters of liquid medication, and flow rates for IV drips based on orders and available concentrations.

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152 views

Dosage Calculation

The document provides information on dosage calculations including conversions, terminology used in medication administration, and the formula for calculating dosages. It explains that the formula is Desired/Have x Vehicle, where Desired is the amount ordered, Have is the amount on hand, and Vehicle is the form it comes in. It then provides examples of using the formula to calculate the number of tablets, milliliters of liquid medication, and flow rates for IV drips based on orders and available concentrations.

Uploaded by

paulzilicous.art
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Dosage

Calculation

Conversions
1L 1,000 mL
1 tsp 5 mL
1 oz 30 mL
1 lb 16 oz
1 kg 2.2 lb
1g 1,000 mg
1 mg 1,000 mcg
1 mcg 0.001 mg
Terminology
PO By mouth
PRN As needed
QD Once a day
BID Twice a day
TID Three times a day
HS Hour of sleep

Desired / Have x Vehicle


Desired = What do you WANT to give the patient? (This is what the HCP
ordered, what the prescription is for, etc.)

Have= This is the quantity of medication (mgs, mcgs, grams…) that you actually
have on hand. What the label says on the bottle, what the pharmacy sent up, etc.

Vehicle= This is what that medication you have in you hand actually comes in.
You can’t see the mgs, mcgs, etc…. You CAN see the ml’s, tablets, capsules…. This
is what you will actually be able to measure out for your patient.
(D/H) xV

You receive an order to administer 400


mg ibuprofen to your patient prn q6
hours. You retrieve the medication which
comes in 200 mg tablets. How many
tablets do you administer to your
patient?
Desired = 400 mg ibuprofen
Have = 200 mg tablets
Vehicle = 1 tablet

(400mg / 200mg) x 1 tablet = 2 tablets

You are passing medications on a pediatric floor


and have a patient who needs his scheduled
diazepam. The order reads: 2.5 mg PO BID. You
remove the medication and the label reads:
diazepam 5 mg/mL suspension. How many
milliliters will you administer to your patient?
Desired = 2.5 mg
The dose that you have is 5mg
The vehicle that medication comes in is 1 mL
(2.5mg/5mg) x 1 mL = 0.5 mLs
You will administer 0.5 mLs of diazepam to your
patient

When they don’t tell you the exact desired….


● Sometimes you have to do a little extra math to find out what that DESIRED
dose is.
● Doctors often write orders based on the client's weight
● For example:
○ 15 mg/kg acetaminophen
○ The desired dose is 15 mg of acetaminophen PER kilogram that the client weighs
○ When this happens we have to multiply to find the total desired dose.
● We ALWAYS use kilograms!!
● If the problem gives you the client's weight in lbs…. Convert it to kgs FIRST!
A nurse prepares to administer
cephalosporin intravenously to a 9 month
old patient who weighs 22 pounds. The vial
reads 4 mg/mL and the prescription is for
6 mg/kg q 8 hours. The nurse draws up
_______ mLs

Convert pounds to kilograms:


22/2.2 = 10 kg.
Calculate the dose desired:
6 mg x 10 kg = a total of 60 mg.
What you have: 4 mg
Vehicle it comes in: 1mL

(60 mg / 4 mg) x 1 mL = 15 mL.


The nurse will administer 15 mL of cephalosporin.
A nurse prepares to administer her patient’s
maintenance dose of nifedipine orally. The dose
is 0.07mg/kg/day. The medication label reads
0.5mg/2mL. The client weighs 66 lbs. The
provider writes the order as TID. The nurse
draws up _______ mLs for each dose

Convert pounds to kilograms:


66/2.2 = 30 kg.
Calculate the dose desired:
0.07 mg x 30 kg = 2.1 mg/day.
The order is TID, so divide the total dose by 3:
2.1mg/3 = 0.7 mg/dose.
Have = 0.5 mg
Vehicle = 2mL

(0.7 mg / 0.5 mg) x 2 mL = 2.8 mL.


The nurse will administer 2.8 mL of nifedipine with each dose.
Rate
● The formula is the same… D/H x V
● Finding the desired just takes a bit more work!
● Your final answer should always be in ml/hr* - that is how our IV pumps
work!!!

Step 1: Find the desired dose: ml x kg x 60*

Step 2: D/H x V

*if the order is in minutes, you must multiply by 60 to convert to hours.

While working in the ICU, you are checking


the drip rates of your vasoactive infusions.
Your patient is ordered to have
norepinephrine running at 0.4 mcg/kg/min.
Their weight is 26kg. The concentration of
the norepinephrine bag is 20 mcg to 1 mL.
What rate should the pump be set to?
Desired dose = 0.4 mcg per kg per min
Multiply the 0.4 mcg by the weight (26 kg)
Multiply by 60 (to convert from minutes to hours):
(.4 mcg x 26 kg x 60 min) = 624 mcg/hr
Have = 20 mcg
Vehicle = 1 mL

Desired / Have x Vehicle:


624mcg/20mcg = 31.2 mL/hr

The pump should be set to 31.2 mL/hr

While working in the ICU, you are initiating a


phenylephrine drip. The provider orders 2
U/kg/hr. Their weight is 75 kg. The concentration
of the phenylephrine is 20 units to 1 mL. What
rate should the pump be set to?
Desired Dose: 2 U/kg/hr
2U x 75 kg = 150 U/hr
The amount of medication you have is 20 U. H = 20.
The vehicle that this amount of medication comes in is 1 mL. V = 1

(Desired amount of medication ÷ Amount of medication you have) x vehicle

(D÷H) x V

(150U ÷ 20mg) x 1mL = 7.5 mL

The patient’s IV drip rate is 7.5 mL per hour so that they receive 150 U mg per
hour of phenylephrine.

While working in the ICU, you are titrating a


milrinone drip. The provider orders for the drip
to be increased to 0.5mcg/kg/min. Their weight
is 27kg. The concentration of the milrinone is 0.5
mg to 1 mL. What rate should the pump be set
to?
Desired Dose: 0.5mcg/kg/min
Weight: 27 kg
Minutes: **In this problem, they gave you an order in minutes, so you need to multiply by
60 to convert to hours**
Total dose = 0.5 mcg x 27 kg x 60 minutes = 810mcg/hr

Have: 0.5 mg
This is a different unit of measure than your desired dose!! Get them all on the same
page FIRST!
0.5 mg x 1,000 = 500 mcg
Vehicle: 1mL

(D÷H) x V

810 mcg/hr ÷ 500 mcg/mL = 1.62 mL/hr

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