Published Dec 12, 2012
tony.quinn
1 Post
order is .5mg, stock is 5 mg in 1 ml. how much do i draw up? how should i look at tis?
Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN
20,908 Posts
DosageHelp.com - Helping Nursing Students Learn Dosage Calculations - Mass for Mass Questions
[TABLE=class: example]
[TR]
[TD][TABLE=class: fraction]
[TD=class: numerator]Ordered
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TD=class: denominator] Have [/TD]
[/TABLE]
[TD] x Volume Per Have
[TD] = Y (Liquid Required) [/TD]
KelRN215, BSN, RN
1 Article; 7,349 Posts
Desired/on hand.
Your ordered dose is 0.5 mg. On hand, you have 5 mg in 1 mL. 0.5mg/5 mg/mL = X mL. The mg cancel each other out and you solve for X mL.
Daisy_08, BSN, RN
597 Posts
FYI - make sure you always add the 0 in front of any decimal place!
anneuhbanana
56 Posts
Sometimes it's easier to look at it without formulas. I say how many ml are in each mg. So 0.2ml in 1mg and you need 0.5mg so how many ml is that?
ADN2B
135 Posts
0.5mg x 1mL/5mg = mL
BloomNurseRN, ASN, BSN, RN
1 Article; 722 Posts
I'm definitely a fan of equations in these examples. We do "desired"/"have" x quantity. We shorten it to D/H x Q.
For your example it would be 0.5 mg/5 mg x 1 ml. This then multiples out to 0.5 ml.
You always have to be careful that you have the same measurements (i.e. mg, mcg, etc) but otherwise this is a quick, easy way to work out this type of problem.
Anoetos, BSN, RN
738 Posts
The formula is (O / OH)V = x where O is ordered amount (mass), OH is on hand amount (mass) and V is on hand volume.
Order is for 0.5mg
On hand qty is 5mg/mL in 1 mL
So: (0.5mg/5mg)1mL = 0.1mL (the masses cancel, besides you know you're looking for volume)
Draw it up in a little tiny syringe...
Also, you know that the desired amount is exactly one tenth the available full amount in 1mL...so, one tenth of a mL...
Honestly, I rarely do the math. Once you're used to it, most of the time you just "see it".