I'm having trouble setting this up.

Question

15 ml Tylenol3 to be given every 4-6 hours. Your research indicates that there are 12 mg codeine per 5 ml of liquid and that the safe dosage is between 0.5 and 1 mg/kg/dose every 4-6 hours. Is this prescription safe for your child? If not, what would the maximum safe dosage be every 4-6 hours?

Answer 1

• 15ml * (12mg/5ml) = 36 mg codeine per dose
• If the safe dose is .5 to 1 mg/kg/dose, the safe limit depends on the side of the child.  Using the more conservative limit of .5mg/kg, you have 36mg(kg/.5mg)=72kg, which is roughly 160 lbs!  Even with the upper limit of 1mg/kg, you still have 36mg(kg/1mg) = 36kg, or 80 lbs, which is a larger child.  I would say this dose isn't "safe", but you really need the weight of the child to calculate what is a safe dose.
• Using the middle range of "safe" and .75mg/kg, you could set it up like this:
• Weight(.75mg/kg)(5ml/12mg) = "safe" dose

 

I can't think in kg, but the conversion from kg to pounds is 2.2lb/kg.  For a 40 lb child, that would be 18kg, so the safe dose for that child would be in the 18(.75)(5/12)=5-6ml range.

 

Hope this helps!