A practical nurse in a long-term care facility is reviewing a new medication order for a r… — NCLEX-PN

A practical nurse in a long-term care facility is reviewing a new medication order for a resident diagnosed with a lower respiratory tract infection. The provider's prescription reads: 'Azithromycin $500\text{ mg}$ PO on day 1, followed by $250\text{ mg}$ PO daily on days 2 through 5.' The pharmacy dispenses an azithromycin oral suspension with a concentration of $200\text{ mg}/5\text{ mL}$ . How many total milliliters (mL) of this medication will the nurse administer over the entire 5-day treatment course? (Record answer to the nearest tenth. Do not include units in answer.)

Answer: 37.5 mL

Answer

37.5

The prescription requires a total of

1,500\text{ mg}

of azithromycin over 5 days (

500\text{ mg}

on day 1, plus

1,000\text{ mg}

over days 2 through 5). Using the supplied concentration of

200\text{ mg}/5\text{ mL}

, the required volume is calculated by dividing

1,500

200

, which equals

7.5

. Multiplying

7.5

5

yields exactly

37.5\text{ mL}

Step-by-Step Solution

Calculate the total milligrams required for the full 5-day prescription.

Day 1 =

500\text{ mg}

. Days 2-5 (4 days) =

1,000\text{ mg}

. Total =

1,500\text{ mg}

To determine the complete volume needed, the total medication dosage over all days must first be established.

Set up the dimensional analysis or standard dosage formula to convert total milligrams to milliliters.

(\frac{1,500\text{ mg}}{200\text{ mg}}) \times 5\text{ mL}

This aligns the prescribed dose with the available concentration (

200\text{ mg}

per

5\text{ mL}

) supplied by the pharmacy.

Solve the equation and round to the nearest tenth as instructed.

7.5 \times 5 = 37.5\text{ mL}

Ensures the correct final liquid volume is calculated without rounding errors.

Key Concept

Multi-step Dosage Calculation and Course Accumulation

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