An infant is to receive thyroxin sodium, 0.35 mg once a day orally. The medications is available in elixir from 0.25 mg/ml. How much elixir should the nurse administer?

1. A

   1.3 mL

2. B

   1.0 mL

3. C

   2.4 mL

4. D

   1.4 ml

Appeared in: AIIMS Nagpur NO- 2020

Explanation

• The question requires a standard drug dosage calculation.
• The formula to use is (Desired Dose / Dose on Hand) × Quantity.
• Plugging in the values: (0.35 mg / 0.25 mg) × 1 mL gives the correct answer of 1.4 mL.
• This calculation ensures the infant receives the exact prescribed therapeutic dose.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

• Option A: This is an incorrect calculation. It does not result from the correct application of the dosage formula.
• Option B: This would be correct only if the desired dose was 0.25 mg, which is the concentration of the elixir, not the prescribed dose.
• Option C: This is a significant miscalculation. It may result from inverting the fraction and making an additional error.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

• Nursing practice connection: Knowing Drug Dosage Calculation helps nurses interpret findings accurately and avoid errors in routine assessment, medication administration, and patient teaching.
• Accurate medication calculation is a fundamental and critical nursing skill to prevent medication errors and ensure patient safety.
• In pediatric populations, especially infants, even small errors in dosage can lead to significant adverse effects or toxicity due to their small body size and immature organ systems.
• The 'Six Rights' of Medication Administration (Right Patient, Right Drug, Right Dose, Right Route, Right Time, Right Documentation) must always be followed. This question directly addresses the 'Right Dose'.

How to Approach the Question

• First, identify that this is a dosage calculation problem.
• Next, extract the three key pieces of information from the question: the Desired dose (D), the dose on Hand (H), and the Quantity (Q).
• Recall or look up the standard formula for dosage calculation: Volume = (D / H) x Q.
• Substitute the values into the formula: Volume = (0.35 mg / 0.25 mg) x 1 mL.
• Perform the division and multiplication to find the final volume.
• Finally, compare your calculated answer to the given options to select the correct one.

Concept Tested & Keywords

• Concept Tested: Drug Dosage Calculation
• Stem keywords: thyroxin sodium, infant, elixir, dosage calculation
• Lead-in keywords: How much
• Clinical cues: Patient is an infant, which necessitates high precision in dosage calculation.

Question ID

QbMliqfoXX_sceFq_zGdtx

Copy ID

Reference Book

E6 Nursing Fundamentals Potter Perry 12e Part 3 p. 142-144