Dimensional Analysis for Doctors and Nurses
Name__________________
(Front page examples taken from Clinical Calculations (With Applications to General
and Specialty Areas) IV edition), used in college classes dealing with patient drug
calculations and approximations.
A) A patient has a drug order of gentamicin sulfate (which treats, among many
bacteria, meningitis and gonorrhea) for 4 milligrams per kg of body weight per
day, in 3 divided doses. The client weighs 165 pounds.
a. If 2.2 pounds is a kilogram, how many kg is the patient?
b.
How many mg of gentamicin per day should the client receive?
c. How many mg of gentamicin per dose?
d. If you have an IV that contains 40 mg per mL of drug, and you need to
give the amount you calculated in part C, how many mL of gentamicin
should the patient get? Hint: think of the IV as 40mg = 1mL
B) A 145 pound patient requires tobramycin (for cystic fibrosis) with a dose of 3mg
per kg of body weight a day, in 3 doses.
a. How many kg is the patient?
b. How many mg of tobramycin should the patient receive per day?
c. How many mg of tobramycin should the patient receive per dose?
d. The IV contains 80mg of drug per 2 mL. Find out how many mL of drug
you need to administer per dose.
C) Record the length of both lines for this centimeter scale ruler using your
knowledge of estimation
Red:
Blue:
D) If you know the exact radius of a circle, with no uncertainty at all, is it possible to
know the exact value of the area of that circle? Why or why not?
E) Convert
14.6 𝑘𝑚
ℎ𝑟
𝑚
to
. Show all steps.
𝑠
F)
10
20
30
40
50
60 centimeters
Report a correct length of the line under the ruler
G) Do the same as F for the ruler below.
10
20
30
centimeters
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