Question

a nurse is preparing to administer potassium chloride 3 meq/kg/day po divided in equal doses every 6 hr to a preschooler who weighs 42 lb. available is potassium chloride oral solution 20 meq/15 ml. how many ml should the nurse administer per dose? (round the answer to the nearest whole number. use a leading zero if it applies. do not use a trailing zero.)

Explanation:

Step1: Convert weight to kg

$42\ \text{lb} \times \frac{1\ \text{kg}}{2.2\ \text{lb}} \approx 19.09\ \text{kg}$

Step2: Calculate daily mEq

$3\ \text{mEq/kg/day} \times 19.09\ \text{kg} \approx 57.27\ \text{mEq/day}$

Step3: Find doses per day

$\frac{24\ \text{hr}}{6\ \text{hr/dose}} = 4\ \text{doses}$

Step4: Calculate per dose mEq

$\frac{57.27\ \text{mEq/day}}{4\ \text{doses}} \approx 14.32\ \text{mEq/dose}$

Step5: Convert mEq to mL

$14.32\ \text{mEq} \times \frac{15\ \text{mL}}{20\ \text{mEq}} \approx 10.74\ \text{mL}$

Step6: Round to whole number

$11\ \text{mL}$

Answer:

11