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 B
Explanation
To find the flow rate in mL/hr, you need to use the formula for infusion rate:
Infusion rate (mL/h) = Total volume (mL) / Time (h)
Since the total volume is 2.5 L and the time is 15 hours, plug in these values into the formula:
Infusion rate (mL/h) = 2.5 L / 15 h
However, before you can simplify and solve for the infusion rate, you need to convert the volume from liters to milliliters by multiplying by 1000:
Infusion rate (mL/h) = 2500 mL / 15 h
Simplify and solve for the infusion rate:
Infusion rate (mL/h) = 166.67 mL/h
Therefore, the flow rate for continuous infusion is **166.67 mL/h**.
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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