Chloroquine is used to treat malaria. Studies have shown that an effective dose for children is 3.5 mg per kilogram (3.5 mg/kg) of body weight, every 6 hours. If a child weighs 21 kg, how many milligrams of this drug should be given in a 66 hour period?
3.5 mg/kg x 21 kg = ? mg drug every 6 hours. Then ?mg/6 hrs x 66 hours = x total in 66 hours.
73.5
To find out how many milligrams of the drug should be given to a child weighing 21 kg over a 66-hour period, we need to calculate the total dosage based on the recommended dose of 3.5 mg/kg every 6 hours.
Step 1: Calculate the dosage per administration.
Since the recommended dose is 3.5 mg per kilogram, and the child weighs 21 kg, the dosage for each administration is 3.5 mg/kg * 21 kg = 73.5 mg.
Step 2: Calculate the number of administrations.
To determine the total number of administrations over a 66-hour period, we divide 66 hours by the duration between doses, which is 6 hours: 66 hours / 6 hours = 11 administrations.
Step 3: Calculate the total dosage.
By multiplying the dosage per administration (73.5 mg) by the number of administrations (11), we can find the total dosage.
Total dosage = 73.5 mg/administration * 11 administrations = 808.5 mg.
Therefore, a child weighing 21 kg should be given a total of 808.5 mg of chloroquine over a 66-hour period.