Formula sheets, the key method steps for every topic and 6 practice problems, with full solutions at the back.
How should a topical corticosteroid cream usually be applied?
A patient on stable warfarin is prescribed a course of metronidazole. What is the likely effect, and what should the nurse expect?
A patient weighing 135 kg has a body surface area of 2.2 m². The prescription is 100 mg/m². Find the dose D in mg.
The prescription is 2120 micrograms. The ampoule contains 4 mg/mL. Draw up the dose in the 1 mL syringe: what volume V do you give?
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). An 84 kg patient is to be loaded intravenously with phenytoin sodium to reach a phenytoin level of 20 mg/L. The volume of distribution is 0.7 L/kg and the salt factor is S = 0.92. Find the loading dose LD of phenytoin sodium in mg.
Practice exercise (made-up values, not clinical guidance). A 59-year-old woman weighs 86 kg and has a serum creatinine of 2.1 mg/dL (186 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 vancomycin dose is 1000 mg every 12 h for a creatinine clearance of 100 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: A · As a thin layer to the affected area only, as directed
Thin application to affected skin limits systemic absorption and skin atrophy. Occlusive dressings increase absorption and are used only when prescribed.
Answer: C · The INR rises, so closer INR monitoring is needed
Metronidazole inhibits the metabolism of warfarin (mainly via CYP2C9), so warfarin levels and the INR rise. The bleeding risk increases, and the INR is checked more often during and after the course.
Answer: D = 220 mg
Body-surface-area dosing: many cytotoxic and some paediatric doses are prescribed per square metre of body surface area: dose (mg) = dose per m² × BSA (m²). The Mosteller formula estimates BSA = √(height (cm) × weight (kg)/3600).
Answer: V = 0.53 mL
Drawing up a dose: volume = (prescribed dose/stock strength) × stock volume. Convert to the same units first, then check that the volume fits the syringe and lands on one of its graduations.
Answer: LD = 1278 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 = 392 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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