Question

Penicillin G procaine 240,000 units intramuscularly is prescribed for a 4-year-old child who has a streptococcal respiratory infection. The medication vial is labeled 1,200,000 units/2 mL. How many mL should the nurse administer? (Enter numeric value only. If rounding is required, round to the nearest tenth.)

Answer 1

To administer the prescribed 240,000 units of Penicillin G procaine, the nurse should calculate the dose based on the medication vial's indication of 1,200,000 units per 2 mL. After setting up a proportion and solving for it, the result is 0.4 mL to be administered.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the correct dosage of Penicillin G procaine to be administered intramuscularly, we will use the information provided on the medication vial. The vial is labeled as 1,200,000 units per 2 mL. The prescribed dosage for the child is 240,000 units.

To find out how many milliliters correspond to the 240,000 units, we set up a proportion:

1,200,000 units / 2 mL = 240,000 units / x mL

To solve for x, we cross multiply:

1,200,000 units * x mL = 240,000 units * 2 mL

x = (240,000 units * 2 mL) / 1,200,000 units

x = 480,000 mL / 1,200,000

x = 0.4 mL

Therefore, the nurse should administer 0.4 mL of Penicillin G procaine to deliver the prescribed dose of 240,000 units.