How Do You Calculate Medication Dosage Based On Height & Weight?
When a nurse or doctor calculates a medication dose based on a person’s height and weight, he first determines the person’s body surface area (BSA). This gives him a figure (expressed in meters squared) that is then multiplied by a drug-specific number to give the desired medication dose. This process allows the health care provider to give enough of the drug to ensure it’s effective, but not so much that the person will have unwanted side effects. This level of dosing accuracy is critical when administering potential medications like chemotherapy drugs, which are extremely toxic in higher doses. Step 1 Access a BSA calculator. You can find these on the Internet at a site like Halls MD (see the Resources section). Many health care facilities also have their preferred formula embedded in a BSA calculator on their Intranet site. Step 2 Identify the formula for BSA that’s used in your health care setting. There are several recognized formulas for determining how much medication to give a
When a nurse or doctor calculates a medication dose based on a person’s height and weight, he first determines the person’s body surface area (BSA). This gives him a figure (expressed in meters squared) that is then multiplied by a drug-specific number to give the desired medication dose. This process allows the health care provider to give enough of the drug to ensure it’s effective, but not so much that the person will have unwanted side effects. This level of dosing accuracy is critical when administering potential medications like chemotherapy drugs, which are extremely toxic in higher doses. Access a BSA calculator. You can find these on the Internet at a site like Halls MD (see the Resources section). Many health care facilities also have their preferred formula embedded in a BSA calculator on their Intranet site. Identify the formula for BSA that’s used in your health care setting. There are several recognized formulas for determining how much medication to give a person of a ce
