A nurse obtains a child's medication weight in pounds, but the order is in mg/kg. What is essential before calculation?
- ADivide the weight in pounds by 2.2
- BMultiply the weight in pounds by 2.2
- CDivide the weight in pounds by 2
- DUse the kilogram weight from the child's last clinic visit
Show answer and explanations
Answer
A
A
mg/kg orders require weight in kilograms; dividing pounds by 2.2 gives the correct weight, which should be double-checked before calculating the dose.
B
Multiplying converts in the wrong direction and would give nearly five times the correct weight.
C
Dividing by 2 overestimates the weight by about 10%, which is not acceptable for pediatric dosing.
D
A previous weight may be outdated; dosing needs a current, verified weight.