Haldol (haloperidol) 5.0 mg PO tid was ordered for a patient who is agitated.
Which action should a nurse take before administering the medication?
Discuss the use of PO with the healthcare provider.
Discuss the use of tid with the healthcare provider.
Discuss the use of Haldol with the healthcare provider.
Discuss the use of the trailing zero with the healthcare provider.
The Correct Answer is D
This action should be taken by the nurse before administering the medication because the use of a trailing zero after a decimal point (5.0 mg) is a common cause of medication errors and should be avoided. A trailing zero may be misread or misinterpreted as a larger dose (50 mg) or omited altogether, resulting in a 10-fold overdose or underdose, respectively. For example, when prescriptions have been writen for "Coumadin 1.0 mg," patients have received 10 mg in error. Therefore, the nurse should clarify the intended dose with the healthcare provider and use the correct notation (5 mg) without a trailing zero.
The other options are not appropriate actions because:
a) Discussing the use of PO (by mouth) with the healthcare provider is not necessary, as PO is a standard route of administration for Haldol (haloperidol) and does not pose a risk of confusion or error.
b) Discussing the use of tid (three times a day) with the healthcare provider is not necessary, as tid is a standard frequency of administration for Haldol and does not pose a risk of confusion or error.
c) Discussing the use of Haldol with the healthcare provider is not relevant to the question, as Haldol is the prescribed medication for the patient who is agitated and does not need to be changed or questioned by the nurse.
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Related Questions
Correct Answer is D
Explanation
The nurse should administer 2 tablets per dose to this patient.
This answer is correct because it is based on a simple unit conversion and ratio and proportion calculation. The nurse can convert 0.1 mg to 100 mcg by multiplying by 1000, since there are 1000 mcg in 1 mg. Then, the nurse can set up a proportion as follows:
50 mcg / 1 tablet = 100 mcg / x tablets
Cross-multiplying and solving for x gives:
x = 2 tablets
Therefore, the nurse should administer 2 tablets of Synthroid to deliver 0.1 mg or 100 mcg of the medication to the patient.
Correct Answer is B
Explanation
First, we need to convert the patient's weight from pounds to kilograms using the conversion factor 1 kg =
2.2 lb:
154 lb / 2.2 lb/kg = 70 kg
Next, we need to calculate the dose of nitroprusside in mcg/min using the formula Dose = Weight × Dosage:
Dose = 70 kg × 3 mcg/kg/min = 210 mcg/min
Then, we need to convert the dose of nitroprusside from mcg/min to mg/hr using the conversion factor 1 mg = 1000 mcg:
210 mcg/min × 1 mg/1000 mcg × 60 min/hr = 12.6 mg/hr
Finally, we need to calculate the rate of nitroprusside in mL/hr using the formula Rate = Dose/Concentration:
Rate = 12.6 mg/hr / 100 mg/mL = 0.126 mL/hr
To round to the nearest hundredth, we get 0.13 mL/hr, which is approximately equal to 1.26 mL/hr.
Therefore, the nurse should program the IV pump to deliver nitroprusside at a rate of 1.26 mL/hr.
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