The Doctor Prescribes A Dosage Of Morphine To A Patient Who Weighs 128 Lbs. The Dosage Is 2.5 Mg Of Morphine Per 1kg Of Body Weight. How Many Mg Of Morphine Will The Patient Need To Receive? HINT: 2.2 Lb 1 Kg 128 Lb Patient Kg Patient/ Ib Patient) X Mg Drug! Kg Patient)
The doctor in an emergency room prescribes a dosage of 30 mg/kg of Lorazepam per day. Lorazepam is a drug for seizures and epilepsy. The patient weighs 110 lbs. The hospital pharmacy provides capsules that are 500 mg/capsule. How many capsule(s) will
you need to administer to the patient every day?
You should administer
capsules.
The Correct Answer and Explanation is :
Problem 1: Morphine Dosage
The dosage of morphine prescribed is 2.5 mg per kilogram of body weight. The patient weighs 128 lbs, so we first need to convert the weight from pounds to kilograms.
Step 1: Convert pounds to kilograms
1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs
Therefore, to convert 128 lbs to kilograms:
[
\text{Weight in kg} = \frac{128 \, \text{lbs}}{2.2} = 58.18 \, \text{kg}
]
Step 2: Calculate the dosage of morphine
The prescribed dosage is 2.5 mg per 1 kg of body weight.
[
\text{Dosage} = 2.5 \, \text{mg/kg} \times 58.18 \, \text{kg} = 145.45 \, \text{mg}
]
Answer:
The patient needs to receive 145.45 mg of morphine.
Problem 2: Lorazepam Dosage
The doctor prescribes a dosage of 30 mg per kilogram of body weight for Lorazepam. The patient weighs 110 lbs. The hospital provides 500 mg capsules.
Step 1: Convert pounds to kilograms
1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs
[
\text{Weight in kg} = \frac{110 \, \text{lbs}}{2.2} = 50 \, \text{kg}
]
Step 2: Calculate the total dosage of Lorazepam
The prescribed dosage is 30 mg per kilogram of body weight.
[
\text{Total dosage} = 30 \, \text{mg/kg} \times 50 \, \text{kg} = 1500 \, \text{mg}
]
Step 3: Calculate the number of capsules
Each capsule contains 500 mg.
[
\text{Number of capsules} = \frac{1500 \, \text{mg}}{500 \, \text{mg/capsule}} = 3 \, \text{capsules}
]
Answer:
You need to administer 3 capsules of Lorazepam to the patient every day.
Explanation:
1. Morphine Dosage:
The formula for calculating the morphine dosage involves converting the patient’s weight to kilograms (since the dosage is given per kilogram of body weight). We used the conversion factor (1 kg = 2.2 lbs) to convert the weight from pounds to kilograms. Afterward, we multiplied the weight in kilograms by the prescribed dosage per kilogram to get the total dosage required.
2. Lorazepam Dosage:
The same approach was followed for the Lorazepam dosage. First, the patient’s weight was converted to kilograms. The prescribed dosage (30 mg/kg) was multiplied by the weight in kilograms to calculate the total daily dosage. Finally, we determined how many 500 mg capsules were required by dividing the total dosage by the dosage per capsule (500 mg). This gave us the answer that 3 capsules are needed.
In both cases, the key steps involve converting weight and applying the prescribed dosage per unit of body weight to determine the total dosage. This calculation ensures that the patient receives the correct amount of medication based on their weight.