The Nursing Math Thread

HERE

This might help some of you make the adjustments in your medical math studies. GOOD LUCK

That site is great!

ok, i know the answer to this question is 200 ml/hr, but not sure if i'm looking at it correctly. here is the question:

the patient is to receive 1 gram of cefatazine intravenously over 30 minutes. the pharmacy sends a 100 ml mini bag with 500 mg of cefatazine per 50 ml. what rate will you set on the pump to deliver the prescribed medications?

maybe my mind is frizzled because we have our drug dosage exam tomorrow, joy joy!

the way i looked at it, its 100 ml bag and to give it in 30 minutes, you just double the volume, in this case 100 ml, so ur answer is 200 ml/hr but is there more to the question? i guess i'm sort of thinking "unmedically" lol as the pharmacy isn't going to send up a 100 ml bag with 500 mg of cefatazine per twenty five ml, correct?? because that would be too much meds,correct? i guess i'm just trying to look at the question in different ways

originally i set my equation up as this and got 200ml/hr, but i think i just lucked out:

500 mg = 1000 mg

------- --------

100ml x

and that works out to 200 ml/hour but i think its a fluke.

in class they set i t up as:

order: 1 gram

----- ----- x 100 ml = 100 ml/hr,

have 1 gram

but since you need it in 30 min, but since you need it in 30 minutes, multiply by 2, you get 200 ml/hr

i guess what i'm getting at,if you don't have 1 gram of cefatazine, only 900 mg in the bag, that works out to 222 ml hr? (30 minutes, so double the 111)

and if the 100 ml bag the pharmacy sent you with 500 mg of cefatzine per 25 ml. that works out to 50 ml hr, but 30 min, so double that to 100 ml hr.

as i stated earlier, when i looked at the problem, i automatically thought to myself, double the 100 ml/hr (to 200/ml/hr) because you need it in 30 minutes. and i guess what you have, works out nicely as 50ml times 2 is 100 ml. i guess im just concerned if they change that part of the equatuion. clear as mud? thanks!!

am i out of whack or what? lol sorry if i confused you as well, just a tad stressed about tomorrows exam.

ok, i know the answer to this question is 200 ml/hr, but not sure if i'm looking at it correctly. here is the question:

the patient is to receive 1 gram of cefatazine intravenously over 30 minutes. the pharmacy sends a 100 ml mini bag with 500 mg of cefatazine per 50 ml. what rate will you set on the pump to deliver the prescribed medications?

maybe my mind is frizzled because we have our drug dosage exam tomorrow, joy joy!

the way i looked at it, its 100 ml bag and to give it in 30 minutes, you just double the volume, in this case 100 ml, so ur answer is 200 ml/hr but is there more to the question? i guess i'm sort of thinking "unmedically" lol as the pharmacy isn't going to send up a 100 ml bag with 500 mg of cefatazine per twenty five ml, correct?? because that would be too much meds,correct? i guess i'm just trying to look at the question in different ways

originally i set my equation up as this and got 200ml/hr, but i think i just lucked out:

500 mg = 1000 mg

------- --------

100ml x

and that works out to 200 ml/hour but i think its a fluke.

in class they set i t up as:

order: 1 gram

----- ----- x 100 ml = 100 ml/hr,

have 1 gram

but since you need it in 30 min, but since you need it in 30 minutes, multiply by 2, you get 200 ml/hr

i guess what i'm getting at,if you don't have 1 gram of cefatazine, only 900 mg in the bag, that works out to 222 ml hr? (30 minutes, so double the 111)

and if the 100 ml bag the pharmacy sent you with 500 mg of cefatzine per 25 ml. that works out to 50 ml hr, but 30 min, so double that to 100 ml hr.

as i stated earlier, when i looked at the problem, i automatically thought to myself, double the 100 ml/hr (to 200/ml/hr) because you need it in 30 minutes. and i guess what you have, works out nicely as 50ml times 2 is 100 ml. i guess im just concerned if they change that part of the equatuion. clear as mud? thanks!!

am i out of whack or what? lol sorry if i confused you as well, just a tad stressed about tomorrows exam.

here it is in da:

100ml x 60min = 6000 = 200ml/hr

30min.... 1hr...... 30

you do have 1 g in the bag according to the problem not 900mg, does this make more sense? i have trouble with this too, i can see the answer before i work the problem then i have a hard time figuring out how to set it up so the teacher understands my thinking!

Here it is in DA:

100ml X 60min = 6000 = 200ml/hr

30min.... 1hr...... 30

You do have 1 g in the bag according to the problem not 900mg, does this make more sense? I have trouble with this too, I can see the answer before i work the problem then I have a hard time figuring out how to set it up so the teacher understands my thinking!

Yes I relaize the bag does have 1 gram, the 900mg I stated was just an example

thanks

Oh I see...sorry!

Help!

I don't have to take an NET exam...instead I have to take this ProCalc math test before I can start clinicals. We went over dosage calculations over one 4-hour period the FIRST week of class and that was it. Our instructors told us to read the first 11 chapters of our books (which was basic math like decimals, fractions, percentages, etc). we spent a long time on that stuff but when it came to the dosage calculations, they FLEW through them! They kept putting the easy problems on the board and simply "read off" the harder ones.

I have to get a 90% or better on this test and I have 3 tries to do it. Right now I am at 77% proficiency and it's all because of problems like these:

1,000 mg of Ceptaz (ceftazidime) must be prepared. A 1 grams vial of Ceptaz in powdered form is available. Directions for reconstitution state: Add 10 mL of diluent to yield 90 mg in 1 mL. After reconstituting the drug as directed, how many mL should you withdraw from the vial?

... I don't even know where to START with that one. I'm getting really nervous about this test

Then there was another one that I got wrong:

You need to verify that a prescribed dose of Apresoline (hydralazine hydrochloride) for a patient currently weighing 86 lbs is safe. The drug literature recommends a maximum of 7.5 mg/kg/day. The drug is administered in 2 divided doses over a 24-hour period. You determine that a maximum safe dose for this patient would be __ mg per dose.

Here is what I did:

86 lbs / 2.2 kg = 39 kg

39 kg x 7.5 mg = 292.5 mg

292.5 mg / 2 = 146.25 = 146.3 mg/dose

...yet the correct answer is 147 mg/dose and I don't understand why?

...I hate nursing math.

thank you, Daytonite!!!

the first one really confused me with the whole "add 10 mL of diluent to yield 90 mg in 1 mL." But it makes sense and actually that problem was a lot easier than I thought after seeing what you did to come up with the answer

as for the second one, I really hope that test isn't going to make me solve by dimensional analysis just to get the CORRECT answer because dimensional analysis confuses me. i prefer solving by proportion/ratio or the D/H x Q formula.

thank you again!!! this really helps! :bow:

i'm working on basic drug calculations and i'm having trouble with 2 questions. this isn't homework, just a practice problem.

the adult dose of a medication is 50 mg.

the dose for a child whose bsa is 0.70 m2 is _____ mg.

correct answer 20.23 (i have no idea how they got that)

child's bsa: 1.1 m2

order: betamethasone 4 mg/m2/day po, divided into four doses is ordered.

available: syrup 0.6 mg/5 ml

how many ml will you administer per dose?

correct answer 3.66

any help is greatly appreciated!!

Thankyou!!!!!