Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 6 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
While giving medicines, a patient says, "That pill looks different from the one I usually take." What should the nurse do?
A patient on heparin for 7 days has a platelet count that has fallen by more than half, and a new leg vein thrombosis. What is the most likely cause and the key action?
A patient weighs 80 kg and is prescribed 10 mg/kg as a single dose. Find the dose D in mg.
A child weighing 10 kg is prescribed 5 mg/kg per dose of an oral suspension that contains 40 mg in 1 mL. What volume V do you give? Round to one decimal place.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). An 85 kg patient is to be loaded intravenously with aminophylline to reach a theophylline level of 15 mg/L. The volume of distribution is 0.5 L/kg and the salt factor is S = 0.8. Find the loading dose LD of aminophylline in mg.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 46-year-old man weighs 60 kg and has a serum creatinine of 1.7 mg/dL (150 µmol/L). Estimate the creatinine clearance with Cockcroft–Gault: CrCl (mL/min) = (140 − age) × weight (kg)/(72 × SCr in mg/dL), × 0.85 for women. The usual gentamicin dose is 120 mg every 8 h for a creatinine clearance of 120 mL/min. Keeping the interval, the dose is reduced in proportion to the creatinine clearance. Find the adjusted dose D. Round to the nearest whole number.
Answer: B · Stop and recheck the order and the medicine before giving it
A patient's concern can reveal a wrong drug or wrong patient error. The nurse rechecks the order and product, and may call the pharmacy; a different brand or strength may explain the change.
Answer: C · Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia; stop all heparin
Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is caused by antibodies against heparin–platelet factor 4 complexes. It usually starts 5–10 days after heparin begins and causes thrombosis, so all heparin is stopped and a non-heparin anticoagulant is used.
Answer: D = 800 mg
Dose calculation: the amount to give equals what is prescribed divided by what you have, times the quantity it comes in: amount = (desired dose/stock strength) × stock volume. Always keep the units the same (convert g to mg, mg to mcg first) and check that the answer is sensible.
Answer: V = 1.3 mL
Dose calculation: the amount to give equals what is prescribed divided by what you have, times the quantity it comes in: amount = (desired dose/stock strength) × stock volume. Always keep the units the same (convert g to mg, mg to mcg first) and check that the answer is sensible.
Answer: LD = 796.9 mg
Clearance and volume: at steady state the dosing rate equals the elimination rate, so the maintenance rate = CL × Css. A loading dose is LD = Vd × C/(S × F), with S the salt factor (fraction of active drug in the salt) and F the bioavailability (1 for IV). From two levels, k = ln(C₁/C₂)/Δt; for an IV bolus Vd = dose/C₀ and CL = k × Vd. The numbers are for practice only; at the bedside always follow local protocols and have high-risk doses double-checked.
In practice the dose is rounded to a convenient amount.
Answer: D = 46 mg
Designing a regimen: with rapid IV doses the level falls from peak to trough during the interval, so τ = ln(Cpeak/Ctrough)/k and the dose that restores the peak is Vd × (Cpeak − Ctrough). The average steady-state level is Css,avg = S·F·dose/(CL·τ). An infusion rises as C = (R/CL)(1 − e−kt). For a drug cleared by the kidneys, the dose is scaled with the creatinine clearance. The numbers are for practice only; at the bedside always follow local protocols and have high-risk doses double-checked.
In practice the dose is rounded to a convenient amount and checked against the product information.
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