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.
Nursing Test Bank
Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams
Related Questions
Correct Answer is A
Explanation
The flow rate of infusion is 125 mL/hr.
This answer is correct because it is based on a simple division and rounding calculation. The nurse should follow these steps to determine the flow rate of infusion:
1) Subtract the start time of the infusion from the end time of the infusion to get the duration of the infusion in hours and minutes, as follows:
15:45 - 06:57 = 8:48
Therefore, the infusion lasted for 8 hours and 48 minutes.
2) Convert the duration of the infusion to hours only by dividing the minutes by 60, since there are 60 minutes in 1 hour. Add this to the hours, as follows:
8 + (48 / 60) = 8.8
Therefore, the infusion lasted for 8.8 hours.
3) Divide the volume of the infusion by the duration of the infusion to get the flow rate in milliliters per hour, as follows:
1000 mL / 8.8 hr = 113.64 mL/hr
Therefore, the flow rate is 113.64 mL/hr.
4) Round the flow rate to the nearest whole number, as follows:
113.64 mL/hr ≈ 114 mL/hr
Therefore, the flow rate is approximately 114 mL/hr.
5) Adjust the flow rate to a standard value that can be set on an IV pump or gravity drip chamber, as follows:
114 mL/hr → 125 mL/hr
Therefore, the flow rate of infusion is 125 mL/hr.
Correct Answer is B
Explanation
To find the milliliters per dose, you need to use the formula for dosage calculation:
Volume (mL) = Dose ordered (mg) / Concentration (mg/mL) x Volume available (mL)
Since the dose ordered is 0.5 grams, the concentration is 125 mg/5 mL, and the volume available is 5 mL, plug in these values into the formula:
Volume (mL) = 0.5 grams / 125 mg/5 mL x 5 mL
However, before you can simplify and solve for the volume, you need to convert the dose from grams to milligrams by multiplying by 1000:
Volume (mL) = 500 mg / 125 mg/5 mL x 5 m
Simplify and solve for the volume:
Volume (mL) = 20 mL
Therefore, the nurse should administer **20 mL** of Amoxil per dose to the patient.
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