Question

a nurse is preparing to administer potassium gluconate (Kaon) 3 mEq/kg/day PO divided in equal doses every 6 hr to a preschooler who weighs 42 lb. available is potassium gluconate liquid 20 mEq/15 ml. how many ml should the nurse administer per dose? (whole number)

Answer 1

The nurse should administer 11 mL of potassium gluconate liquid per dose to the preschooler who weighs 42 lb, with the dose given every 6 hours.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the amount of potassium gluconate liquid the nurse should administer per dose, we first need to convert the child's weight from pounds to kilograms. Since 1 pound is equivalent to 0.453592 kilograms, a child who weighs 42 lb is approximately 19.05 kg (42 lb × 0.453592 kg/lb). Next, we need to calculate the total amount of potassium gluconate required per day by multiplying the child's weight by the prescribed dose: 19.05 kg × 3 mEq/kg/day = 57.15 mEq/day.

The prescription states that the dose should be divided into equal parts every 6 hours, which means the total daily dose should be split into 4 doses (since there are 24 hours in a day). Therefore, each dose will be 57.15 mEq/day ÷ 4 = 14.2875 mEq per dose.

Using the concentration of the available potassium gluconate liquid, which is 20 mEq/15 mL, we can find the volume needed per dose: (14.2875 mEq ÷ 15 mL) / 20 mEq = 10.715625 mL. The question asks for the dose to be in whole numbers, so the nurse should round to the nearest whole number, which is 11 mL.

Therefore, the nurse should administer 11 mL of potassium gluconate liquid per dose to the preschooler.