College

If a 185-lb patient is prescribed 145 mg of the cholesterol-lowering drug Tricor daily, what dosage is the patient receiving in mg/kg of his body weight?

A. 1.72 mg/kg
B. 0.580 mg/kg
C. 0.784 mg/kg
D. 0.356 mg/kg
E. 1.28 mg/kg

Answer :

To find the dosage a patient is receiving in mg/kg of their body weight, follow these steps:

1. Convert the patient's weight from pounds to kilograms:
- The conversion factor from pounds (lb) to kilograms (kg) is approximately 0.453592.
- Multiply the patient's weight in pounds by this conversion factor to get the weight in kilograms.
[tex]\[
\text{Weight in kg} = 185 \, \text{lb} \times 0.453592 \, \text{kg/lb} = 83.91452 \, \text{kg}
\][/tex]

2. Calculate the dosage in mg/kg:
- You know the patient is prescribed 145 mg of the medication daily.
- To find the dosage per kilogram of body weight, divide the total prescribed dosage by the patient's weight in kilograms.
[tex]\[
\text{Dosage in mg/kg} = \frac{145 \, \text{mg}}{83.91452 \, \text{kg}} \approx 1.72 \, \text{mg/kg}
\][/tex]

Therefore, the patient is receiving a dosage of approximately 1.72 mg/kg.