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    HESI PN Exit 2023 Proctored Exam

    A child who weighs 55 pounds receives a prescription for cefotaxime 150 mg/kg/day intravenously in divided doses every 6 hours. How many mg should the nurse administer each day?

    Explanation & Rationale

    Step 1 is to convert the child’s weight from pounds to kilograms since the dosage is prescribed in mg/kg. We know that 1 kg is approximately 2.2 lbs. So, the child’s weight in kg is 55 lbs ÷ 2.2 = 25 kg (rounded to the nearest whole number for simplicity). Step 2 is to calculate the total daily dosage. The prescription is for 150 mg/kg/day. So, the total daily dosage is 150 mg/kg/day × 25 kg = 3750 mg/day. So, the correct answer is, after analysing all choices, the nurse should administer 3750 mg of cefotaxime each day.

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