A nurse is preparing to administer phenobarbital 6 mg/kg/day PO divided in equal doses every 12 hr to a client who weighs 44 lbs. Available is phenobarbital elixir 20 mg/5ml. The nurse should administer how many mL per dose? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use trailing zeros.

Given: Ordered dose of phenobarbital: 6 mg/kg/day divided equally every 12 hours Patient weight: 44 lbs Concentration of phenobarbital elixir: 20 mg/5 mL Step 1: Convert patient weight from pounds to kilograms: 1 pound (lb) = 0.453592 kilograms (kg) Patient weight in kg = 44 lbs x 0.453592 kg/lb = 19.958 kg Step 2: Calculate the total daily dose of phenobarbital: Total daily dose (mg) = Ordered dose (mg/kg/day) x Patient weight (kg) Total daily dose (mg) = 6 mg/kg/day x 19.958 kg Total daily dose (mg) = 119.748 mg/day Step 3: Calculate the dose per administration: Dose per administration (mg) = Total daily dose (mg) / Number of administrations per day Dose per administration (mg) = 119.748 mg/day / 2 administrations/day Dose per administration (mg) = 59.874 mg Step 4: Calculate the volume to be administered per dose: Volume (mL) = Dose per administration (mg) / Concentration (mg/mL) Volume (mL) = 59.874 mg / (20 mg/5 mL) Volume (mL) = 59.874 mg x (5 mL / 20 mg) Volume (mL) = 14.9685 mL Step 5: Round to the nearest whole number: Volume (mL) ≈ 15 mL