Question

The physician orders lithium citrate 0.6 g po bid. The nurse has available lithium citrate syrup 300 mg/5 mL. How many mL will the nurse administer to deliver one dose? (Record your answer using a whole number)

a) 10 mL
b) 15 mL
c) 20 mL
d) 30 mL

Answer 1

The nurse will need to administer 10 mL of lithium citrate syrup to deliver one dose of 0.6 g, using the available syrup concentration of 300 mg per 5 mL.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate how many milliliters of lithium citrate syrup must be administered to deliver one dose of 0.6 grams (g), you need to use the available concentration of the syrup, which is 300 milligrams (mg) per 5 milliliters (mL). First, convert the dose from grams to milligrams by multiplying by 1,000, since 1 g = 1,000 mg:

0.6 g × 1,000 = 600 mg

Next, determine how many milliliters contain 600 mg of lithium citrate. If 300 mg is in 5 mL, then 600 mg would be in:

(600 mg / 300 mg) × 5 mL = 2 × 5 mL = 10 mL

Therefore, the nurse will need to administer 10 mL of the syrup to deliver one dose of 0.6 g of lithium citrate.