A child who weighs 55 pounds receives a prescription for cefotaxime 150 mg/kg/day intravenously in divided doses every 6 hours.
How many mg should the nurse administer each day?
A.
3000 mg.
B.
3300 mg.
C.
3600 mg.
D.
3750 mg.
The correct answer and Explanation is :
To determine the correct amount of cefotaxime to administer to the child each day, follow these steps:
- Convert the child’s weight from pounds to kilograms:
The prescription is based on the child’s weight in kilograms. To convert pounds to kilograms:
[
55 \, \text{pounds} \times \frac{1 \, \text{kg}}{2.2 \, \text{pounds}} = 25 \, \text{kg}
]
So, the child weighs 25 kg. - Calculate the daily dose:
The prescription states 150 mg per kg of body weight per day. Therefore, the total daily dose is:
[
150 \, \text{mg/kg/day} \times 25 \, \text{kg} = 3750 \, \text{mg/day}
]
Thus, the total amount of cefotaxime the child should receive each day is 3750 mg.
- Divided doses:
The prescription says the doses are to be divided and administered every 6 hours. Since there are 24 hours in a day, the child will receive four doses:
[
\frac{3750 \, \text{mg}}{4} = 937.5 \, \text{mg per dose}
]
Therefore, the nurse should administer 937.5 mg of cefotaxime every 6 hours, for a total of 3750 mg per day.
Correct Answer: D. 3750 mg
Explanation:
Cefotaxime is prescribed based on the child’s weight, and dosing recommendations are often given in mg per kg per day. After converting the child’s weight to kilograms and multiplying by the prescribed mg/kg/day, we find that the total daily dosage for this child is 3750 mg. This dosage is divided into four doses given every 6 hours. Therefore, the total daily dose of cefotaxime to be administered is 3750 mg/day.