Drug Dosage Calculations Practice
Exam With Answers- NCLEX - Nurse
Labs; 100% Guaranteed PASS!!!!
A home health nurse is caring for a 72-year-old patient with a history of
gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The patient has been prescribed magnesium
hydroxide/aluminum hydroxide (Maalox) 30 mL PO to alleviate symptoms. However, the
patient does not have any calibrated medication measuring devices at home. The nurse
must instruct the patient on how to measure the dose using ordinary household
measuring devices accurately. How will you instruct the patient to measure the dose
using ordinary household measuring devices?
Fill in the blanks. Record your answer to the nearest whole number.
_________ tbsp.?
Answer: 2 tbsp.
30mL×(1tbsp/15ml)=2tbsp
-One tablespoon is equal to 15 mL.
-Convert 30 mL to tablespoons by multiplying it by one tablespoon.
-Then, divide 30 by 15 mL to get the final answer of 2 tbsp.
A 66-year-old patient with a history of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is currently on
warfarin (Coumadin) therapy. The patient has a bottle of Warfarin (Coumadin) 5 mg
tablets at home. After reviewing the patient’s most recent international normalized ratio
(INR) results, the healthcare provider calls the patient and instructs them to adjust their
daily dosage to 7.5 mg/day. The patient is unsure about how to adjust their tablet intake
to achieve the new dosage. As a nurse, you are asked to guide the patient on the
correct number of tablets they should take. Considering the patient has scored tablets,
how many tablets should the patient take daily?
Fill in the blank and record your answer using one decimal place.
___________ tablet(s)?
Answer : 1.5 tablet(s)
Desired (D) xVehicle (V)/ On hand (H) = amount to administer .
-Use the standard formula above.
-First, multiply the desired dose (7.5 mg) to the vehicle (1 tablet) to get 7.5mg.
-Then, divide 7.5 mg by the drug on hand (5 mg) to get 1.5 tablets.
A 60-year-old male patient is admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of peptic ulcer
disease (PUD). The healthcare provider orders an intravenous piggyback (IVPB) of
ranitidine (Zantac) 50 mg in 50 mL D5W to be administered over 30 minutes. The
primary nurse notices that the IV tubing has a drip factor of 15. The nurse is responsible
for setting the IV infusion controller to regulate the flow of medication. How many drops
, per minute should the nurse set on the IV infusion controller to administer the IVPB
correctly?
Fill in the blanks and round your final answer to a whole number.
___________ gtts/minute?
Answer: 25 gtts/min
Drops per minute (gtts/min) = (total infusion volume x drop factor) / Total time
of infusion in minutes
-Use the IV flow rate formula for gtts/minute above.
-Multiply 50 mL (total volume) to 15 gtts (drop factor) to get 750 gtts.
-Divide 750 gtts with 30 minutes (time in minutes) to get 25 gtts/minute.
A 45-year-old female patient with a history of anxiety disorder is prescribed alprazolam
(Xanax) 0.5 mg orally. However, the pharmacy mistakenly dispensed Xanax 0.25 mg
tablets. The nurse must administer the correct dose of 0.5 mg. How many tablets of
Xanax 0.25 mg should the nurse give to the patient?
Fill in the blanks and round your answer to the nearest whole number.
__________ tablet(s)?
Answer: 2 tablet(s)
-Multiply 0.5 mg to 1 tablet (vehicle) to get 0.5 mg.
-Then divide 0.5 mg with 0.25 units (drug on hand) to get 2 tablets.
A 68-year-old male patient with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD) presents with a worsening productive cough and has been diagnosed with a
bacterial respiratory infection. He is prescribed erythromycin (Erythrocin) 250 mg orally
every 6 hours for 10 days. The patient also has dysphagia, which complicates oral
intake. The pharmacy has dispensed erythromycin tablets in 0.5 g strength. Given the
patient’s condition and prescription, how many tablet(s) of the 0.5 g erythromycin should
the nurse administer for each dose?
Fill in the blank.
___________ tablet(s)?
Answer: 1/2 tablet or 0.5 tablet
-The strength of the erythromycin tablet dispensed by the pharmacy is 0.5 grams,
equivalent to 500 mg. The prescribed dose is 250 mg, which is half of the available
tablet strength. The patient's dysphagia are important clinical considerations for overall
care and medication administration but do not change the dosage calculation.
Therefore, for each dose, the nurse should administer half a tablet of the 0.5 g
erythromycin to provide the 250 mg dose that is required. The nurse should also ensure
that the half tablet is administered in a form that the patient can safely swallow,
considering his dysphagia.
Exam With Answers- NCLEX - Nurse
Labs; 100% Guaranteed PASS!!!!
A home health nurse is caring for a 72-year-old patient with a history of
gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). The patient has been prescribed magnesium
hydroxide/aluminum hydroxide (Maalox) 30 mL PO to alleviate symptoms. However, the
patient does not have any calibrated medication measuring devices at home. The nurse
must instruct the patient on how to measure the dose using ordinary household
measuring devices accurately. How will you instruct the patient to measure the dose
using ordinary household measuring devices?
Fill in the blanks. Record your answer to the nearest whole number.
_________ tbsp.?
Answer: 2 tbsp.
30mL×(1tbsp/15ml)=2tbsp
-One tablespoon is equal to 15 mL.
-Convert 30 mL to tablespoons by multiplying it by one tablespoon.
-Then, divide 30 by 15 mL to get the final answer of 2 tbsp.
A 66-year-old patient with a history of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is currently on
warfarin (Coumadin) therapy. The patient has a bottle of Warfarin (Coumadin) 5 mg
tablets at home. After reviewing the patient’s most recent international normalized ratio
(INR) results, the healthcare provider calls the patient and instructs them to adjust their
daily dosage to 7.5 mg/day. The patient is unsure about how to adjust their tablet intake
to achieve the new dosage. As a nurse, you are asked to guide the patient on the
correct number of tablets they should take. Considering the patient has scored tablets,
how many tablets should the patient take daily?
Fill in the blank and record your answer using one decimal place.
___________ tablet(s)?
Answer : 1.5 tablet(s)
Desired (D) xVehicle (V)/ On hand (H) = amount to administer .
-Use the standard formula above.
-First, multiply the desired dose (7.5 mg) to the vehicle (1 tablet) to get 7.5mg.
-Then, divide 7.5 mg by the drug on hand (5 mg) to get 1.5 tablets.
A 60-year-old male patient is admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of peptic ulcer
disease (PUD). The healthcare provider orders an intravenous piggyback (IVPB) of
ranitidine (Zantac) 50 mg in 50 mL D5W to be administered over 30 minutes. The
primary nurse notices that the IV tubing has a drip factor of 15. The nurse is responsible
for setting the IV infusion controller to regulate the flow of medication. How many drops
, per minute should the nurse set on the IV infusion controller to administer the IVPB
correctly?
Fill in the blanks and round your final answer to a whole number.
___________ gtts/minute?
Answer: 25 gtts/min
Drops per minute (gtts/min) = (total infusion volume x drop factor) / Total time
of infusion in minutes
-Use the IV flow rate formula for gtts/minute above.
-Multiply 50 mL (total volume) to 15 gtts (drop factor) to get 750 gtts.
-Divide 750 gtts with 30 minutes (time in minutes) to get 25 gtts/minute.
A 45-year-old female patient with a history of anxiety disorder is prescribed alprazolam
(Xanax) 0.5 mg orally. However, the pharmacy mistakenly dispensed Xanax 0.25 mg
tablets. The nurse must administer the correct dose of 0.5 mg. How many tablets of
Xanax 0.25 mg should the nurse give to the patient?
Fill in the blanks and round your answer to the nearest whole number.
__________ tablet(s)?
Answer: 2 tablet(s)
-Multiply 0.5 mg to 1 tablet (vehicle) to get 0.5 mg.
-Then divide 0.5 mg with 0.25 units (drug on hand) to get 2 tablets.
A 68-year-old male patient with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD) presents with a worsening productive cough and has been diagnosed with a
bacterial respiratory infection. He is prescribed erythromycin (Erythrocin) 250 mg orally
every 6 hours for 10 days. The patient also has dysphagia, which complicates oral
intake. The pharmacy has dispensed erythromycin tablets in 0.5 g strength. Given the
patient’s condition and prescription, how many tablet(s) of the 0.5 g erythromycin should
the nurse administer for each dose?
Fill in the blank.
___________ tablet(s)?
Answer: 1/2 tablet or 0.5 tablet
-The strength of the erythromycin tablet dispensed by the pharmacy is 0.5 grams,
equivalent to 500 mg. The prescribed dose is 250 mg, which is half of the available
tablet strength. The patient's dysphagia are important clinical considerations for overall
care and medication administration but do not change the dosage calculation.
Therefore, for each dose, the nurse should administer half a tablet of the 0.5 g
erythromycin to provide the 250 mg dose that is required. The nurse should also ensure
that the half tablet is administered in a form that the patient can safely swallow,
considering his dysphagia.
