Question

A nurse is preparing to administer phenobarbital 3mg/kg PO twice a day to a school-age child who weighs 44 lbs. Available is phenobarbital elixir 20 mg/5 mL. How many mL should the nurse plan to administer per dose? (Round to the nearest whole number)

Answer 1

To calculate the amount of phenobarbital elixir in mL that the nurse should administer per dose, we need to convert the weight of the child from pounds to kilograms. The nurse should plan to administer 3 mL of phenobarbital elixir per dose.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the amount of phenobarbital elixir in mL that the nurse should administer per dose, we need to convert the weight of the child from pounds to kilograms. Since 1 pound is approximately 0.4536 kilograms, we can calculate the weight of the child in kg as follows: 44 lbs * 0.4536 kg/lb = 19.9584 kg (rounded to the nearest whole number, this would be 20 kg).

Next, we need to calculate the total amount of phenobarbital needed per dose. This can be done by multiplying the weight of the child in kg by the recommended dose of 3 mg/kg: 20 kg * 3 mg/kg = 60 mg.

Finally, we can determine the volume of phenobarbital elixir in mL to administer by dividing the total amount needed by the concentration of the elixir: 60 mg / 20 mg/5 mL = 3 mL (rounded to the nearest whole number).