Oral Drug Dosage BCC Pharmacy Tech Oral Drugs

Oral Drug Dosage BCC Pharmacy Tech

Oral Drugs… • Preferred because they are easy to take and convenient for the patient. • Oral medications are absorbed through the GI tract (mostly the small intestine). • Because of the absorption factor they might not be effective as other forms of medication. • Most common form is a tablet. • Tablets come in many different sizes, shapes and colors.

• Patients with difficulty swallowing pills, may have pills crushed using a mortar and pestle or a other device.

• Tablets may be grooved for ease of administering only a fraction of the tablet. Some are scored in half and others are scored into fourths. • Some medications can not be crushed and should be verified. • These include enteric coated or sustained released or extended released medications.

• Oral medications may also be supplied in capsule form. • A capsule is a hard or soft gelatin that houses powder, liquid or granular form of a specific medication. • Capsules can not divided or crushed.

• Oral medications may also be administered in liquid form such as an elixir or oral suspension. • Oral liquid medications can be measured with a medication cup, oral syringe or dropper.

Forms of Medication • • • Caplet Casule Elixir Enteric coated tablet Extract Glycerite Intraocular disk Liniment Lotion Ointment Paste Pill • • Solution Suppository Suspension Syrup Tablet Tincture Transdermal disk or patch Troche (lozenge)

Oral Dosages • The physician orders ampicillin 0. 5 g po four times a day. The drug is supplied in 250 mg capsules. How many capsules will the nurse administer? • ***The order is in grams and the drug is supplied in milligrams. 1. ) convert 0. 5 g to milligrams 1000 mg : 1 g : : x mg : 0. 5 g

• 0. 5 g = 500 mg 2. ) use proportion to calculate the amount of the drug to be given. 250 mg : 1 capsule : : 500 mg : x capsules 3. ) How many capsules will be give in 1 day? 2 capsules : 1 dose : : x capsules : 4 dose

Alternative Formula Method D A X Q D-desired amount of the medication that has been ordered A-represents the strength of the medication that is available Q- represents quantity or amount of the medication that contains the available strength. READS: desired over available multiplied by quantity.

• The physician orders ampicillin 0. 5 g po four times a day. The drug is supplied in 250 mg capsules. How many capsules will the nurse administer? • **Convert 1 st** • 500 mg x 1 capsule 250 mg

To do…. • Worksheet • Practice • Evaluate