Question

Mercaptopurine, a cancer treatment, is recommended at a dose of 80 mg/m2. How much mercaptopurine should be given to someone who is 180 cm tall and weighs 70 kg?

a. 70 mg
b. 80 mg
c. 140 mg
d. 152 mg
e. 160 mg

Answer 1

To calculate the dose of mercaptopurine for a person, we need to calculate their body surface area using the Mosteller formula, then multiply it by the recommended dose. For someone with a height of 180 cm and weight of 70 kg, the calculated dose is 152 mg.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the amount of mercaptopurine that should be given to someone, we need to calculate their body surface area (BSA) first. The formula commonly used to calculate BSA is the Mosteller formula:

BSA (in square meters) = sqrt[(height in cm x weight in kg) / 3600]

Using the given height of 180 cm and weight of 70 kg, we can calculate the BSA:

BSA = sqrt[(180 x 70) / 3600] = 1.95 square meters

Now we can calculate the dose of mercaptopurine:

Dose = BSA x recommended dose

Dose = 1.95 x 80 mg/m2 = 156 mg

Therefore, the correct answer is 152 mg (option d).