Printable reference
Pediatric safe dose range worksheet
Practice deciding whether a pediatric ordered dose fits the calculated safe range, per-dose maximum, total daily maximum, frequency, and concentration setup.
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Safety disclaimer
- Educational practice only; not medical advice or a medication order.
- Do not use worksheet examples for real patient dosing decisions.
- Always verify medication, indication, concentration, dose limits, allergies, timing, rounding, and local policy with licensed clinical guidance.
Safe-dose check before converting to mL
- Weight converted to kg
- Range identified as per-dose or per-day
- Low/high safe range calculated
- Single-dose and daily maximum checked
- Concentration and rounding checked only after dose is judged safe
Safe-range formula reminders
Daily range
kg × low–high mg/kg/day = mg/day range
Per-dose range
daily range ÷ doses/day = mg per dose
mL conversion
ordered mg ÷ concentration in mg/mL = mL
Flag doses that are below range, above range, above a stated maximum, or unclear because the range is per-day vs per-dose. Follow instructor directions for rounding.
Practice problems
| # | Problem | Work space | Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 kg child. Practice reference: 10–15 mg/kg per dose. Order: 200 mg per dose. Is the order in range? | ☐ In range ☐ Clarify | |
| 2 | 44 lb child. Practice reference: 30–50 mg/kg/day divided QID. Order: 250 mg every 6 hours. Check per-dose and daily range. | ☐ In range ☐ Clarify | |
| 3 | 25 kg child. Practice reference: 8–12 mg/kg per dose, max 300 mg per dose. Order: 350 mg per dose. Is it safe for the exercise? | ☐ In range ☐ Clarify | |
| 4 | 30 lb child. Practice reference: 20–40 mg/kg/day divided BID. Order: 150 mg twice daily. Check daily and per-dose range. | ☐ In range ☐ Clarify | |
| 5 | 22 kg child. Practice reference: 5 mg/kg per dose. Order: 110 mg. Concentration on hand: 100 mg/5 mL. Find mL after confirming dose. | ☐ In range ☐ Clarify | |
| 6 | 16 kg child. Practice reference: 45 mg/kg/day divided TID, max 900 mg/day. Order: 250 mg TID. Check daily total and max. | ☐ In range ☐ Clarify |
Answer key — reference only
- 18 × 10–15 = 180–270 mg per dose. 200 mg is within the exercise range.
- 44 lb ÷ 2.2 = 20 kg. Daily range 600–1,000 mg/day; QID per-dose range 150–250 mg. 250 mg q6h = 1,000 mg/day, at the high end.
- 25 × 8–12 = 200–300 mg per dose; max 300 mg. 350 mg is above range and max: clarify for the exercise.
- 30 lb ÷ 2.2 ≈ 13.6 kg. Daily range ≈272–545 mg/day; BID per-dose range ≈136–273 mg. 150 mg BID = 300 mg/day, within range.
- 22 × 5 = 110 mg. Dose matches the exercise reference. 100 mg/5 mL = 20 mg/mL; 110 ÷ 20 = 5.5 mL.
- 16 × 45 = 720 mg/day. 250 mg TID = 750 mg/day, slightly above the calculated daily reference but below max; clarify per exercise instructions.