Tle Performing Measuration and Calculation

1. Performing
Mensuration and
Calculations
WEEK 4 & 5

2. Methods Used in Calculating Pediatric Doses
1. Body surface area, simply abbreviated BSA, is a measure of
the skin’s total area. BSA is used by doctors,
pharmacologists, and other clinicians to determine the
proper dosage of medications.
2. Clark’s Rule is a medical term referring to a mathematical
formula used to calculate the proper dosage of medicine for
chilldren aged 2-17. the procedure is to take the child’s
weight in pounds, divide by 150lb, and multiply the fractional
result by the adult dose to find the equivalent dosage.
3. Young’s Rule is a rule for calculating the dose of medicine
correct for a child by adding 12 to the child’s age, dividing
the sum by the child’s age, then dividing the adult dose by
the figure obtained.

3. 4. Fried’s Rule is a method of estimating the dose of medicine for a child
by multiplying the dose by the child’s age in months and dividing the
product by 150.
How to Calculate Pediatric Dosing
Pediatric dosing describes the calculation from an adult-
appropriate milligran per kilogram per day (mg/kg/day) to child- sage-
dosages. Determine child-safe dosages using the child’s body weight.
This calculations is not always completely accurate and requires a great
deal of understanding about the medication that you are administering.
If you are not completely confident in your ability to determine a child-
safe dose of a specific medication, do not administer the medication.
Rather, consult a trained physician or pharmacist who can better
calculate what dosage is safe for the child.

4. 1. Determine the medication’s mg/kg/day. You can obtain this
information from the drug’s manufacturer. In bulk medications
meant to be distributed to multiple prescriptions, the manufacturer
typically prints the dosage on the side of the packaging.
2. Measure the child’s body weight.
3. Convert the baby’s weight from pounds to kilograms by dividingthe
baby’s weight by 2.2.
4. Multiply the baby’s weight in kilograms by the mg/kg/day amount.
5. Divide the dosage by the frequency that you must administer the
medication.
Reading Medication Labels and Basic Dosage Calculations
There are two different ways in which drugs can be
administered, often referred to as routes. Drugs may be given orally, by
mouth/ or injected;medications that are injected are called parenteral
medication.

5. 1. Oral Medications Many medicines are given by mouth. The
abbreviation for medication to be given by mouth is p.o. or PO, which
is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase “per os,” meaning “by mouth”
a) Tablets- are pills that are solid; tablets can be split in half if
they have a score or line in the middle of them.
b) Capsules- are pills that contain liquid or powder usually in some
kind of gelatin cover. Capsules can never be broken into smaller
pieces because the power or liquid they contain would fall out.
c) Liquid- Not all oral medications come in pill form, however.
Many oral medications are given as liquids. Oral medication for
small children or infants will generally be in liquid form, since
they cannot swallow pills.

6. 2. Parental Medications
Routes of Administering Parental Medications
Parental medications are any medications given by injection.
Injection is usually given in one of three different ways:
a) Subcutaneously (subQ)- A subcutaneous injecton is one that is
given in the fatty layer of tissue under the skin.
b) Intramuscularly (IM)- An intramascular injection is one that is
given in the muscle. The maximum amount of fluid an adult can
safely be given intramuscularly is 3ml; for a child, the maximus
is 1ml.
c) Intravenously (IV)- An intravenous injection is one that is given
directly into the vein.

7. Types of Syringes Used for Parental Medication
There are several different sizes of syringes that can be used
for medication. You should always use the smallest possible syringe in
which the dosage will fit, because the smaller the syringe, the more
accurately you can measure the dosage.
• 3ml syringe (3 cc syringe) this is the most commonly used syringe.
As its name suggests, it holds a total of 3ml of fluid. Every tenth of
an ml is marked on the syringe, and every half ml is labeled; this
means that any dosage we plan to measure using a 3ml syringe should
be rounded to the nearest tenth.

9. • Tuberculin syringe- A tuberculin syringe is used to measure
small doses, so it is often used to dose small children and
infants. There are two different sizes of tuberculin syringes
which you might encounter.
• 5-12 ml syringes- When an IV dose requires a syringe that
can hold more than 3ml, a 5, 6, 10, or 12ml syringe can be
used. On each of these size syringes, every 0.2 or two tenths
is marked, so be very careful not to misread a mark as one
tenth of an ml.

10. • 20ml (or more) syringes- Occasionally it is necessary to use
even larger syringes to measure IV fluids.
• Tubex and Carpuject cartridges- these are special pre-
filled cartridges produced by two specific companies that can
be dropped into a plastic injector with a plunger for injection.