Question

If the prescription reads "levothyroxine (Synthroid), 150 mcg orally daily," and the medication label indicates "levothyroxine, 0.1 mg/tablet," how many tablets should the nurse administer to the client?

A. 1 tablet
B. 1.5 tablets
C. 2 tablets
D. 2.5 tablets

Answer 1

To convert the prescribed dose of 150 mcg to milligrams, we use the conversion factor that 1 mg equals 1000 mcg. The result is 0.15 mg, corresponding to 1.5 tablets of levothyroxine since each tablet contains 0.1 mg.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question involves converting between different units of medication dosage to determine the correct number of tablets to administer. In this case, we are to convert micrograms (mcg) to milligrams (mg) in order to match the prescription's dosage with the medication label's dosage unit. The prescription reads "levothyroxine (Synthroid), 150 mcg orally daily", and the medication label indicates "levothyroxine, 0.1 mg/tablet". To calculate this, we first need to convert micrograms to milligrams. We know that 1 mg equals 1000 mcg, so 150 mcg is equivalent to 0.15 mg. Given that each tablet contains 0.1 mg of levothyroxine, the nurse would need to administer 1.5 tablets to equal the 0.15 mg dose prescribed.