Question

If a loading dose of a medication is 30 mg/kg to be infused at 2

mg/kg/min, over how many minutes should the dose be administered to
a 12 kg child?

Answer 1

To calculate the time to administer a 30 mg/kg loading dose at 2mg/kg/min for a 12 kg child, find the total dose and the infusion rate, then divide the total dose by the infusion rate. The result is 15 minutes.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a loading dose of a medication is 30 mg/kg to be infused at 2mg/kg/min, the time over which the dose should be administered to a 12 kg child can be calculated as follows:

First, calculate the total loading dose for a 12 kg child:

• Loading dose = 30 mg/kg × 12 kg = 360 mg in total

Next, determine the infusion rate per minute for the child:

• Infusion rate = 2 mg/kg/min × 12 kg = 24 mg/min

Finally, calculate the time needed to administer the total loading dose:

• Time (minutes) = Total loading dose / Infusion rate
• Time (minutes) = 360 mg / 24 mg/min = 15 minutes

Therefore, the loading dose should be administered over a period of 15 minutes.