A nurse is preparing to administer amoxicillin 30 mg/kg/day in 2 equally divided doses every 12 hr to a toddler who weighs 33 lb. Available is amoxicillin 200 mg/5 mL suspension. How many mL should the nurse administer. (Round the answer to the nearest tenth. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)

To calculate the dosage of amoxicillin for the toddler, first convert the weight from pounds to kilograms, knowing that 1 kilogram equals 2.2 pounds. The toddler weighs 33 lb, which is approximately 15 kg (33 ÷ 2.2). The prescribed dose is 30 mg/kg/day, so for a 15 kg toddler, the total daily dose is 450 mg (15 kg × 30 mg/kg). This total daily dose should be divided into two doses to be given every 12 hours, resulting in 225 mg per dose (450 mg ÷ 2). Now, using the concentration of the amoxicillin suspension available, which is 200 mg/5 mL, calculate the volume of suspension needed for each dose. For a dose of 225 mg, the volume required is 5.625 mL (225 mg × 5 mL / 200 mg). Rounded to the nearest tenth, the nurse should administer 5.6 mL for each dose.