You decide who is right

[Justmenfl]

Please check my answer. My friend and I are having a small wager on who is right.

The dosage availble is Solu-medrol 40 mg/ml. The order for a pediatric client is Solu-medrol 20 mg IV push

The child weighs 15 lbs. How many mls will be adminstered.

ML=ml/40mg x20 mg

My answer is 0.5 ml

Friends answer is 3.4 ml (my friend multipled 0.5 x 6.8 kg)

I personally think the question is missing the dosage/kg to make it a valid question But how the questions is written I believe my answer is right

[MunoRN, RN]

You're right that the child's weight has nothing to do with dosage as it is ordered. The other question would be if 20mg is appropriate for a 15lb child. Peds isn't my thing so I can't say off the top of my head, but it strikes me as maybe being a bit much for 15lbs, although it would probably depend on the condition.

[P-medic2RN]

solu-medrol peds dose ranges from 0.5-2mg/kg and high as 30mg/kg for spinal cord injury.

[Mike R, ADN, BSN, RN]

You're right that the child's weight has nothing to do with dosage as it is ordered. The other question would be if 20mg is appropriate for a 15lb child. Peds isn't my thing so I can't say off the top of my head, but it strikes me as maybe being a bit much for 15lbs, although it would probably depend on the condition.

+1. As it's ordered, weight is irrelevant.

If you strictly answer this poorly worded question, then you're right. If you happen to know the dosage/weight that was ordered, you could figure out how much to give based on patient weight. But below is food for thought.

Davis' Drug guide says "Anti-inflammatory/Immunosuppressive - 0.5-1.7/mg/kg/day divided into q6-12 hr"

A 15lb (6.8kg) child can therefore safely take 3.4ml daily - 11.6ml daily.

[Mike R, ADN, BSN, RN]

Double post.

[Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN]

0.5mg is the correct answer for the problem as written. The dose per kg is not mentioned at all in the question, so it's not a factor in the calculations.

Remember that med calc questions are more to test your knowledge of drug calculations and mathematics, rather than to test whether this is the best dose for this particular patient.