Question about this dosage question.

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First off I understand how to do it, I am just a bit confused about the final answer.

Dilaudid 2 mg is ordered for your patient. It is supplied as Dilaudid 5 mg per teaspoon. How many ml will you administer?

So, here what I did.

1 teaspon = 5 ml.

I multiplied 5ml x 2 mg, I got 10.

I divided 10 by 5 mg (D/H)

and got the answer 2. Is it 2 ml? or 2 tsp? in that case would the answer be 10 ml?

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How many mg would be in 2tsp? 10mg.

The answer is 2ml.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

OK you don't have it right. If there are 5mg per teaspoon and there are 5 mls in a teaspoon that works out to 1 mg per ml. If the dose is 2 mg how many mls would you give?

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Specializes in NICU.

1 teaspoon= 5 ml

5 mg Dilaudid= 1 teaspoon( 5ml)

5mg Dilaudid=5 mL

1 mg Dilaudid=1 ml

2 mg Dilaudid is odered

2mg Dilaudid=? ml

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2mg

----- x 5ml = 2ml

5mg

Mg cancel out leaving you with ml, so your final answer is in ml (what the questions is asking for)

For these questions I Ike to use

Desired (md order)

---------------------- x (unit)

Have (stock)

Unit can be ml or whatever the question is asking for!

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Dilaudid 2 mg is ordered for your patient. It is supplied as Dilaudid 5 mg per teaspoon. How many ml will you administer?

So, here what I did.

1 teaspon = 5 ml.

I multiplied 5ml x 2 mg, I got 10.

I divided 10 by 5 mg (D/H)

and got the answer 2. Is it 2 ml? or 2 tsp? in that case would the answer be 10 ml?

Well, before you ever start looking at how to set up "equations," let's look at the question. I always tell people to stand back and get an idea of what they're looking at before they start frantically crunching numbers. This is a perfect illustration of why that is a good idea.

Think.

If there are 5mg in a teaspoon and you want 2 mg, how on earth would the answer ever be 2 tsp or 10ml? Wouldn't it have to be less than a teaspoon no matter how many ml it works out to be? And if it's 5mg in 5ml, why do all that multiplying and dividing? 1:1 means 2mg = 2ml.

Honestly. You're scaring me here.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

Yes I would be concerned by the OPs statement that they know how to do it.

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If you understood how to do it, you wouldn't be confused by the answer. Those two answers are VERY different.

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Specializes in Critical care.

I actually think the problem is that when you're doing the problem you're not keeping track of the units of measurement as you go. If you had been, you wouldn't have to ask what the units were at the end.

I also wouldn't choose to set to set the problem up the way you did, especially if you're shaky on the way it should be done without trying to skip steps.

i would:

2mg D x 1tsp/5mg x 5ml/1tsp= 2ml

setting it up that way, you multiply the entire top first and KEEP THE UNITS WITH YOUR ANSWER

(2mg x 1 tsp x 5ml=10mg*tsp*ml)

and then the entire bottom (5mg * 1tsp= 5mg*tsp), again keeping the units.

Then divide the top by the bottom, cancel units, and you're left with your answer:

10mg*tsp*ml/5mg*tsp=2ml.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Since when is Dialudid dispensed in teaspoons?

Seriously

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

GBW....This is the second time you have missed the most important information provided to you.

Dilaudid 2 mg is ordered for your patient. It is supplied as Dilaudid 5 mg per teaspoon. How many ml will you administer?
So if there is 5mg per 5ml......WHY on earth would you give 10ml
1 teaspoon = 5 ml.

I multiplied 5ml x 2 mg, I got 10.

I divided 10 by 5 mg (D/H)

and got the answer 2. Is it 2 ml? or 2 tsp? in that case would the answer be 10 ml?

Stop rushing! If this were a real patient you just overdosed them by a TON of medication. If it's a kid....you could kill them.

You have a med that is 5 (five) milligrams (5mg) per 1 teaspoon or 5ml. Now if you have 5mg/5ml that would be ____ mg/ml (clue the answer is 1mg/ml).

Now if your med is 1mg/ml how many ml would it take to administer 2mg? _____ (2mg = ? ml)

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as previously mentioned, you're losing track of your units. If you set up the dimensional analysis, the units cancel out, and you'd be left with the correct unit even if you can't step back and look at the whole picture.

BTW, THIS is exactly why my program requires a perfect score on the med math tests. Cause no patient of ours will be getting overdosed. Not by us, at least LOL

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