Oral Medication Labels and Dosage Calculation Chapter 6 Oral Medication Labels and Dosage Calculation

Average Doses Most oral dosages consist of half to three tablets or capsules or half to double the mL volume in liquid medications.

Safety Points Question any prescriptions that require unusual number of tablets or capsules. More than three Be mindful of errors in prescribing, transcribing, or calculating.

Solid Oral Drug Preparations Tablets Scored tablets Indented marking to make breaking for partial drug dosages easier and more accurate (continues)

Solid Oral Drug Preparations (cont’d) Enteric coated tablets Delayed absorption until medication reaches small intestine Capsules Powdered or oily medications in gelatin cover (continues)

Solid Oral Drug Preparations (cont’d) Sustained or controlled-release capsules Action of medication spread over prolonged period of time

Tablet and Capsule Labels Unit dosage label in which each tablet or capsule is packaged separately Most common label in clinical setting (continues)

Tablet and Capsule Labels (cont’d) Each drug has only one official name but may have several trade names, created by the companies that produce them.

Drug Label Information Trade or brand name Capitalized Generic or official name Lowercase Strength in metric measure Always has unit of measure (continues)

Drug Label Information (cont’d) Manufacturers are continuing to correct the following on drug labels: “gr” for gram, which is being eliminated from use in health care Inserting a space between the dosage and the unit of measure, such as “500 mg” instead of “500 mg” (continues)

Drug Label Information (cont’d) Manufacturer Lot number Expiration date Must check before administering

Other Label Information If drug is in a multiple dose container, number of tablets or capsules in container will be on label. United States Pharmacopeia (USP) or National Formulary (NF) may be on multiple dose containers.

Caution Learn to question orders for more than 3 tablets or capsules.

Liquid Oral Medications In addition to aforementioned label information, labels for liquid oral medications state dosage strength in both: Unit of measure For example, mg, mcg, g, etc. Amount of dosage strength in mL of fluid (continues)

Liquid Oral Medications (cont’d) Smaller volumes may be measured in oral or hypodermic (without needle) syringes. Larger volumes are usually measured in calibrated medication cup: 20 mL or more

Multiple Drug Preparations Preparations containing multiple drugs list name and dosage of each drug. For example, Percocet™ contains oxycodone 5 mg and acetaminophen 325 mg (continues)

Multiple Drug Preparations (cont’d) Tablets and capsules that contain more than one drug are usually prescribed by trade name and number of tablets/capsules to be given. For example, Percocet™ 5 mg

Safety Points Some dosage strengths contain both metric and apothecary (gr) measures. Read labels carefully. (continues)

Safety Points (cont’d) Labels will not state amount of tablets/capsules or solution contained in prescribed dose. (continues)

Safety Points (cont’d) When using calibrated medicine cup for liquid oral medications: Pour safely at eye level. Always read calibrations carefully. Some contain several seldom-used units of measure.

Tablet/Capsule/Oral Liquid Medication Calculation Use basic formula: D = desired or dosage prescribed H = have/on hand Q = quantity X = unknown

Conversions Conversions are necessary if medication is prescribed in one unit of metric measure and available (labeled) medication is in another unit of metric measure. Make conversions before using basic formula.