Question

The healthcare provider prescribes digoxin elixir 125 mcg PO daily. The drug is available in a 60 ml. bottle labeled, "Digoxin elixir 0.05 mg/mL." How many mL should the nurse administer? (Enter numeric value only. If rounding is required, round to the nearest tenth.)

a. 0.2 mL
b. 0.5 mL
c. 1.0 mL
d. 2.5 mL

Answer 1

To administer the correct dose of digoxin elixir, the nurse needs to convert the prescribed amount from micrograms to milligrams and then calculate the volume based on the medication's concentration. The calculation results in the administration of 2.5 mL of the digoxin elixir.

Step-by-step explanation:

The healthcare provider prescribed digoxin elixir 125 mcg orally daily. The available digoxin elixir concentration is 0.05 mg/mL. To find out how many mL the nurse should administer, we need to convert the prescribed micrograms to milligrams, since the medication's concentration is given in mg/mL.

Firstly, we convert 125 mcg to mg:
1 mg = 1000 mcg,
so 125 mcg = 0.125 mg.

Next, we use the concentration of the drug to determine the volume to be administered:
0.05 mg / 1 mL = 0.125 mg / X mL,
which gives us X = (0.125 mg × 1 mL) / 0.05 mg = 2.5 mL.

Therefore, the nurse should administer 2.5 mL of the digoxin elixir.