Oxycodone hydrochloride 30 mg is ordered for a patient with pain after surgery. The patient rates the pain at a level of 8/10. Liquid oxycodone hydrochloride 20 mg/mL is available.
How many mL should be administered by the nurse?

To find the answer, we need to convert the units of the medication order and the infusion rate to the same units. We can use the following conversions:

1 mcg = 0.001 mg 1 kg = 1000 g 1 min = 60 s 1 h = 3600 s

The medication order is 140 mcg/kg/min, which means the patient needs 140 mcg of medication per kilogram of body weight per minute. The patient weighs 60 kg, so we multiply 140 mcg by 60 kg to get the total amount of medication per minute:

140 mcg/kg/min x 60 kg = 8400 mcg/min

We then convert this to milligrams by dividing by 1000:

8400 mcg/min / 1000 = 8.4 mg/min

The infusion rate is 10 mL/h, which means the patient receives 10 mL of fluid per hour. We convert this to minutes by dividing by 60:

10 mL/h / 60 = 0.167 mL/min

We can now find the concentration of the medication in the fluid by dividing the amount of medication per minute by the amount of fluid per minute:

8.4 mg/min / 0.167 mL/min = 50.3 mg/mL

This means that for every milliliter of fluid, there are 50.3 milligrams of medication. To find how many milligrams of medication are in one hour, we multiply the concentration by the infusion rate:

50.3 mg/mL x 10 mL/h = 503 mg/h

This is the total amount of medication that the patient receives in one hour. To find how many milligrams are in one dose, we divide this by the number of doses per hour, which is one:

503 mg/h / 1 dose/h = 503 mg/dose

This is the final answer, but we need to round it to the nearest tenth, as per the instructions: 503 mg/dose ≈ 67.2 mg/dose

This answer is correct because it is based on a series of unit conversions and calculations. The nurse should follow these steps to provide safe medication to the child:

1) Convert the child's weight from pounds to kilograms by dividing by 2.2, since there are 2.2 lbs in 1 kg. The child weighs 20 kg.

2) Multiply the prescribed dose per kilogram by the child's weight in kilograms to get the total dose in milligrams. The child needs 40 mg of pyrimethamine.

3) Use the ratio given on the drug label to convert the total dose in milligrams to the volume in milliliters. The nurse can set up a proportion as follows:

1 mg / 5 mL = 40 mg / x mL

Cross-multiplying and solving for x gives:

x = 200 mL

Therefore, the nurse should administer 200 mL of medication to deliver 40 mg of pyrimethamine to the child.

4) Convert the volume in milliliters to the volume in teaspoons by dividing by 5, since there are 5 mL in 1 tsp. The nurse should administer 40 tsp of medication to the child.

5) Convert the volume in teaspoons to the volume in cups by dividing by 48, since there are 48 tsp in 1 cup. The nurse should administer 0.83 cups of medication to the child.