A rainy, stormy night. Two in the morning. A young child has a head cold with a low grade fever. The children's Tylenol (known also by the generic names acetaminophen and paracetamol) has run out - apparently used up by his cousin when the cousin was sick. There is only adult strength 325 mg paracetamol tablets in the house. The child is 30 pounds - an adult dosage is too dangerously high. Can the right dose be calculated and administered? The bottle had a dose table that provides weight versus milligrams of paracetamol. The table is reproduced below.
Weight (pounds) | Paracetamol dosage (mg) |
---|---|
6 | 40 |
12 | 80 |
18 | 120 |
24 | 160 |
36 | 240 |
60 | 400 |
72 | 480 |
Although the data used in this quiz is based on dosage information adapted from healthychildren.org, nothing on this page should be used in the actual administration of paracetamol.
In two weeks time the midterm will cover all material from day one through to the midterm. Thirty questions, a table, and two charts all in 55 minutes. The midterm is a time pressured test, difficult, but achievable if one is prepared. If the midterm is tough and difficult, then this quiz is the opposite. This is the easy day. From here forward the only easy day was yesterday.