Which number should be multiplied by inches in order to convert a patient's height measurement from inches to centimeters?

To find the maximum number of tablets the patient may have in 24 hours, you need to calculate the following:

- The number of doses the patient may have in 24 hours using the formula: Number of doses = 24 hours / Dosing interval (hours)
- The total dose of ibuprofen in milligrams (mg) for 24 hours using the formula: Total dose (mg) = Number of doses x Prescribed dose (mg)
- The number of tablets of ibuprofen using the formula: Number of tablets = Total dose (mg) / Strength per tablet (mg)

First, use the formula for number of doses to find how many times the patient may take ibuprofen in 24 hours:

Number of doses = 24 hours / Dosing interval (hours)

Since the dosing interval is 6 hours, plug in this value into the formula:

Number of doses = 24 hours / 6 hours

Simplify and solve for the number of doses:

Number of doses = 4

Next, use the formula for total dose to find the amount of ibuprofen in milligrams for 24 hours:

Total dose (mg) = Number of doses x Prescribed dose (mg)

Since the number of doses is 4 and the prescribed dose is 600 mg, plug in these values into the formula:

Total dose (mg) = 4 x 600 mg

Simplify and solve for the total dose:

Total dose (mg) = 2400 mg

Then, use the formula for number of tablets to find how many tablets of ibuprofen are needed:

Number of tablets = Total dose (mg) / Strength per tablet (mg)

Since the total dose is 2400 mg and the strength per tablet is 200 mg, plug in these values into the formula:

Number of tablets = 2400 mg / 200 mg

Simplify and solve for the number of tablets:

Number of tablets = 12

Therefore, the maximum number of tablets the patient may have in 24 hours is **12**.

This numeric form is appropriate, according to the Joint Commission, because it does not use a trailing zero after a decimal point, which is a common cause of medication errors and should be avoided. A trailing zero may be misread or misinterpreted as a larger dose 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 error¹². Therefore, the Joint Commission requires that a trailing zero may be used only when required to demonstrate the level of precision of the value being reported, such as for laboratory results, imaging studies that report the size of lesions, or catheter/tube sizes. It may not be used in medication orders or other medication-related documentation.

The other options are not appropriate numeric forms because:

a) 3.0 uses a trailing zero after a decimal point, which poses a risk of confusion or error.

b) 0.30 uses a trailing zero after a decimal point, which poses a risk of confusion or error.

c) 0.03 is not equivalent to 0.3, as it is 10 times smaller.