A child who weighs 18 pounds receives a prescription for amoxicillin 25 mg/kg/day by mouth in divided doses every 12 hours. The bottle is labelled, “Amoxicillin for Oral Suspension, USP 400 mg per 5 mL.” How many mL should the nurse administer with each dose?
(Enter numerical value only. If rounding is required, round to the nearest tenth.)
To determine how many mL of amoxicillin the nurse should administer with each dose, follow these steps:
- Convert the child’s weight from pounds to kilograms:
- Weight in kg = Weight in pounds ÷ 2.2
- Weight in kg = 18 lbs ÷ 2.2 ≈ 8.2 kg
- Calculate the total daily dose of amoxicillin required:
- Dosage = 25 mg/kg/day
- Total daily dose = 25 mg/kg × 8.2 kg = 205 mg/day
- Determine the dose for each administration (since it is divided into two doses):
- Dose per administration = Total daily dose ÷ Number of doses per day
- Dose per administration = 205 mg ÷ 2 = 102.5 mg
- Calculate the volume of amoxicillin to administer for each dose:
- The bottle concentration is 400 mg per 5 mL.
- Volume needed = (Dose in mg ÷ Concentration in mg/mL)
- Concentration in mg/mL = 400 mg ÷ 5 mL = 80 mg/mL
- Volume needed = 102.5 mg ÷ 80 mg/mL ≈ 1.3 mL
So, the nurse should administer 1.3 mL of amoxicillin with each dose.