Question

a nurse is preparing to administer potassium gluconate (kaon) 2mEq/kg PO every 12 hr to a child who weighs 50 lb. how many mEq should the nurse administer per dose? (round to tenth)

Answer 1

To find out how many milliequivalents (mEq) of potassium gluconate to administer to a 50 lb child, convert the weight to kilograms, then multiply by the dosage rate of 2 mEq per kg. The result is rounded to the nearest tenth, which equals 45.5 mEq per dose.

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of this question is Mathematics, specifically pertaining to the dosage calculation in the medical or nursing field. To calculate how many milliequivalents (mEq) of potassium gluconate the nurse should administer per dose to a child weighing 50 lb, we must first convert the child's weight from pounds to kilograms.

We know that 1 kg equals approximately 2.2 lb. So, we divide 50 lb by 2.2 to get the weight in kilograms.

50 lb ÷ 2.2 = approximately 22.73 kg.

Next, we calculate the dosage using the formula provided, which is 2 mEq per kg of body weight:

22.73 kg × 2 mEq/kg = 45.46 mEq

Finally, we round to the nearest tenth as instructed:

The nurse should administer 45.5 mEq per dose.