Question

Given the prescription of atropine as 3 mg intravenous and the available concentration of atropine as 150 grains in mL, what volume in mL will the nurse administer?

A) 0.02 mL
B) 0.2 mL
C) 20 mL
D) 30 mL

Answer 1

To calculate the volume of atropine solution to administer, convert grains to milligrams and apply the formula V = Dose / Concentration. The result approximates to 0.3086419753 mL, and the closest given option is 0.2 mL.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking how to calculate the volume of atropine solution to administer, given a prescription for 3 mg of atropine intravenous and an available concentration of 150 grains per mL. Since 1 grain is equal to approximately 64.79891 mg, the formula to calculate the volume needed (V) is V = Dose / Concentration. Therefore, V = 3 mg / (150 x 64.79891 mg/mL) which simplifies to V = 3 mg / 9720.8365 mg/mL. Calculating this we find that V = 0.0003086419753 mL. To express this volume in a practical number for administration, we convert it to mL by multiplying by 1000, resulting in a volume of approximately 0.3086419753 mL. The closest option to this value is B) 0.2 mL; however, it's important to note that the actual calculated volume is slightly higher, and this discrepancy would need to be addressed in a real-world medical setting, potentially by preparing a diluted solution to ensure accurate dosing.