A 5-year-old with severe osteomyelitis has not been responding to first line therapy. The nurse is ordered to initiate vancomycin I.V. every 6 hours to the patient. If the recommended dose is 10 mg/kg, what is the total daily dose of vancomycin if the patient weighs 44 lbs?

Explanation

•First convert the weight in lbs into kg, then multiply the patient's weight by 10 mg per dose, 4 doses per day.

44 lb/2.2 = 20 kg
20 kg x 10 mg per dose = 200 mg
200 mg x 4 doses per day = 800 mg

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