Adose of aspirin of 5.0 mg per kilogram of body weight has been prescribed to reduce the fever of an infant weighing 8.5 pounds. the number of milligrams of aspirin that should be administered is a) 19 mg. b) 53 mg. c) 1.6 mg. d) 5.0 mg. e) 0.59 mg.

The best answer choice for the question: The number of milligrams of aspirin that should be administered is:___, would be, A: 19 mg.

Explanation:

First, it must always be remembered that dosages of any type of medication will be vastly different when administered to children, than when administered in adults. In children, the body mass of the child, as well as the miligrams of a medication, and the number of times it must be given, have to be computed so that the exact mgs are administered. If too few is given, then in this case the baby´s fever will not break. If too much, severe repercussions can follow, due to overdose. In essence, the first step here is that the body of the child in pounds must be transfomed to its equivalent in kgms. Second, the body weight of the child will be multiplied by the total dose ordered. Since the kilograms of this child are 3.86, this multiplied by 5.0 will give us a total of 19 mgs. So, the infant must receive 19 mg of aspirin a day to break the fever.