Question

Your patient weighs 22 pounds and is to receive 0.02 mg/kg of atropine IV push. You have a multidose vial of atropine containing 20 mL at a concentration of 0.04 mg/mL. What volume (in mL) of medication is to be injected?

A. 0.25
B. 5
C. 0.5
D. 2.5

Answer 1

To determine the correct volume of atropine to be administered IV push to the patient who weighs 22 pounds, the patient's weight is first converted to kilograms, and the total milligram dosage is calculated. The volume of medication is then obtained by dividing this dosage by the concentration of the atropine solution. The final calculation gives us Option B: 5 mL as the correct volume to be injected.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the volume of atropine to be administered to the patient, we need to first convert the patient's weight from pounds to kilograms, considering that 1 pound is equivalent to 0.453592 kilograms. The patient weighs 22 pounds, which is 22 × 0.453592 = 9.979024 kilograms. Next, we calculate the dose in milligrams: 0.02 mg/kg × 9.979024 kg = 0.19958048 mg. We then divide the dose by the concentration of the vial to find out the volume to receive: 0.19958048 mg ÷ 0.04 mg/mL = 4.989512 mL. However, we don't have that option available, so we must have made an error. Let's correct it: The patient weighs 22 pounds, which is 22 × 0.453592 = 9.979024 kilograms. The correct dosage calculation is 0.02 mg/kg × 9.979024 kg = 0.19958048 mg. Comparing available options for the closest value, we then realize that our calculation must be adjusted for error, and the correct volume to administer is indeed one of the provided options. Upon reassessing, we find the correct calculation yields 0.19958048 mg ÷ 0.04 mg/mL = 4.989512 mL. After contemplating the dose, patient's weight, and concentration of atropine, the correct answer is that 4.989512 mL rounds to 5 mL, so the correct option is B. 5 mL.