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The healthcare provider prescribes acyclovir 800 mg by mouth (PO) every 6 hours for an adolescent with chicken pox. The medication is available in 400 mg tablets PO. How many tablets should the nurse administer to the client every 24 hours? (Enter the numeric value only)
Answer and Explanation

The Correct Answer is ["8"]

You can calculate the number of acyclovir tablets the nurse should administer every 24 hours using the following steps:

Daily Dosage: The medication is prescribed to be given every 6 hours, so to find the total daily dosage, we need to consider how many times it's administered in 24 hours:

Total Daily Doses = 24 hours / Dosage Frequency (every 6 hours)

Total Daily Doses = 24 hours / 6 hours/dose = 4 doses per day

Tablets per Dose: Since the prescribed dose is 800 mg and each tablet is 400 mg, we can find the number of tablets needed per dose:

Tablets per Dose = Prescribed Dose (mg) / Tablet Strength (mg/tablet)

Tablets per Dose = 800 mg / 400 mg/tablet = 2 tablets/dose

Total Tablets per Day: Now that we know the tablets needed per dose (2) and the total daily doses (4), we can find the total number of tablets for 24 hours:

Total Tablets per Day = Tablets per Dose x Total Daily Doses

Total Tablets per Day = 2 tablets/dose * 4 doses/day

Total Tablets per Day = 8 tablets

Therefore, the nurse should administer 8 tablets of acyclovir to the client every 24 hours.


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Related Questions

Correct Answer is ["120"]

Explanation

Here's how to calculate the rate (mL/hour) for the infusion pump to deliver lidocaine 4 mg/minute:

1. Lidocaine concentration:

The medication bag contains 1 gram of lidocaine in 500 mL of dextrose 5% in water.

Convert grams to milligrams: 1 gram = 1000 milligrams

Lidocaine concentration (mg/mL) = Total lidocaine (mg) / Volume (mL)

Lidocaine concentration (mg/mL) = 1000 mg / 500 mL

Lidocaine concentration (mg/mL) = 2 mg/mL (round to nearest whole number)

2. Prescribed lidocaine dose: 4 mg/minute (given)

3. We need to find the volume delivered per hour (mL/hour) to achieve the prescribed lidocaine dose (4 mg/minute) considering the concentration (2 mg/mL) in the bag.

Infusion rate (mL/hour) = Dose (mg/minute) x Minutes per hour / Concentration (mg/mL)

However, there's a mismatch in units between dose (mg/minute) and concentration (mg/mL).

To address this, we can convert the infusion duration (minutes) to hours to match the concentration units (mg/mL).

Conversion factor: 60 minutes/hour

Infusion rate (mL/hour) = Dose (mg/minute) x (60 minutes/hour) / Concentration (mg/mL)

Infusion rate (mL/hour) = 4 mg/minute * 60 minutes/hour / 2 mg/mL

Infusion rate (mL/hour) = 120 mL/hour (round to nearest whole number)

Therefore, the nurse should program the infusion pump to deliver approximately 120 mL/hour.

Correct Answer is ["3600"]

Explanation

Here's how to calculate the maximum daily dose of acetaminophen for the child:

Calculate the maximum dose per administration:

Maximum dose per kg per administration = 15 mg/kg (given)

Child's weight = 40 kg (given)

Since this is a PRN medication (given as needed), we will calculate the maximum dose per administration based on the prescribed dosage.

Maximum dose per administration = 15 mg/kg/dose * 40 kg

Maximum dose per administration = 600 mg (round to nearest whole number)

Calculate the number of administrations in a 24-hour period (maximum):

Frequency: Every 4 to 6 hours PRN (given)

Since this is a PRN medication, we will assume the maximum frequency (every 4 hours) for calculating the maximum daily dose.

Number of administrations (maximum) = 24 hours / Frequency (hours/administration)

Number of administrations (maximum) = 24 hours / 4 hours/administration

Number of administrations (maximum) = 6 administrations

Calculate the maximum daily dose:

Maximum daily dose = Maximum dose per administration x Number of administrations (maximum)

Maximum daily dose = 600 mg/administration * 6 administrations

Maximum daily dose = 3600 mg

Therefore, the maximum daily dose the nurse should administer is 3600 mg.

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