Practice Question
For a child weighing 25 kg, prescribed 100 mg/kg/day of medication divided into three doses, what is the total amount to be administered in one dose (Round to the nearest whole number).
Answer Choices:
Correct Answer:
833 mg
Rationale:
🔷 The child weighs 25 kg, and the prescribed dose is 100 mg/kg/day, so the first step is to calculate the total daily dose: 25 kg × 100 mg/kg/day = 2,500 mg/day.
🔷 The order specifies that the dose is to be divided into three doses, so you divide the total daily amount by 3: 2,500 mg ÷ 3 ≈ 833.33 mg per dose.
🔷 When rounding to the nearest whole number, this becomes 833 mg per dose.
🔷 This ensures the child receives the full daily prescribed amount (2,500 mg) evenly spaced across three administrations.
🔷 Therefore, 833 mg is the correct and safely calculated single-dose amount.
1000 mg
🔷 If 1,000 mg were given three times a day, the total daily dose would be 3,000 mg/day, which exceeds the prescribed 2,500 mg/day.
🔷 This represents a 20% overdose relative to the ordered daily amount, which can increase the risk of toxicity or adverse effects, especially in pediatrics.
🔷 The error likely arises from rounding the per-dose amount up too far rather than to the nearest appropriate whole number.
🔷 Safe practice requires staying as close as possible to the calculated dose without significantly exceeding it.
🔷 Therefore, 1,000 mg per dose is too high and does not match the prescribed 100 mg/kg/day.
750 mg
🔷 If 750 mg were administered three times a day, the total daily dose would be 2,250 mg/day, which is below the prescribed 2,500 mg/day.
🔷 This underdoses the child by 250 mg/day, which could lead to subtherapeutic levels, especially important for antibiotics or other critical medications.
🔷 The discrepancy suggests an incorrect division or a miscalculation of the mg/kg/day requirement.
🔷 In pediatrics, accurate dosing is essential to balance effectiveness and safety.
🔷 Therefore, 750 mg per dose is insufficient and does not meet the ordered daily mg/kg requirement.
900 mg
🔷 Giving 900 mg three times daily would total 2,700 mg/day, which is higher than the prescribed 2,500 mg/day.
🔷 This is an overdose by 200 mg/day, which may not seem large but can be significant in a pediatric client depending on the medication.
🔷 This option likely reflects rounding the correct 833 mg dose up excessively rather than to the nearest realistic value.
🔷 Even modest overdosing, if repeated, increases the risk of cumulative toxicity.
🔷 Therefore, 900 mg per dose is not accurate for the calculated requirement of 100 mg/kg/day.
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This question is from Custom Dosage Calculation. which contains 42 questions.
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Question Details
- Category: RN Nursing Exam(s)
- Subcategory: ATI Exam(s)
- Domain: RN ATI Dosage Calculations
- Answer Choices: 4