Drug Calculation Formulas

Below are the most important calculation formulas that you should
know in preparing medications and drips.

Calculating Tablet Dosages

In calculating tablet dosages, the following formula is useful:

DESIRED DOSAGE ÷ STOCK STRENGTH =

NUMBER OF TABLETS
The desired dosage is the ordered dosage of the physician while the
stock strength is the amount of drug present in each tablet. Stock
strength is also known as stock dose.

Example:

 The physician orders 1,500 mg of calcium carbonate for the

patient. The drug is available in 250 mg tablets. How many
tablets should be given to the patient?

Desired dosage ÷ stock strength = number of tablets

1,500 mg ÷ 250 mg = 6 tablets

  The patient is ordered to have 2 g of potassium chloride.
The drug is available in 500 mg tablets. How many tablets
should be given?

Convert 2 g to mg = 2 x 1,000 = 2,000 mg

Desired dosage ÷ stock strength = number of tablets
2,000 mg ÷ 500 mg = 4 tablets

Calculating Mixtures and Solutions

The following formula is useful in calculating mixtures and solutions:

DESIRED DOSAGE ÷ STOCK STRENGTH X STOCK

VOLUME = AMOUNT OF SOLUTION TO BE GIVEN

The desired dosage is the ordered dosage of the physician. The
stock strength is the amount of drug present in the preparation
while the stock volume is the amount of the solution where the drug
is diluted.
Example:

 The physician orders 375 mg of cefuroxime for the patient.

The drug is available in 750 mg vial. You plan to dilute it in
10 mL of sterile water. How much should you give to your
patient?
[Desired dosage ÷ stock strength] x stock volume = amount of
solution to be given
[375 mg ÷ 750 mg] x 10 mL = amount of solution to be given
0.5 mg x 10 mL = 5 mL

 A pediatric patient recovering from accidental fall is about to

be given with 130 mg paracetamol syrup. The drug is
available in 250 mg per 5 mL preparation. How much should
you give to your patient?

[Desired dosage ÷ stock strength] x stock volume = amount of

solution to be given
[130 mg ÷ 250 mg] x 5 mL = amount of solution to be given
0.52 x 5 mL = 2.6 Ml

Calculate IV Rate – mL per hour and minute

It is easy to calculate the running rate of IV fluids in terms of mL

per hour or mL per minute:

TOTAL IV VOLUME ÷ TIME (HOUR OR MINUTE) =

ML PER HOUR OR MINUTE

The total IV volume is the amount of fluid to be infused while the

time is the number of running hours or minutes.
Example:

 Start venoclysis with D5 0.9 NaCl 1 L to be infused for 16

hours. How many mL of the IV fluid should you infuse per
hour?

Total IV volume ÷ time (hour or minute) = mL per hour

1 L ÷ 16 hours = mL per hour
[1 L x 1,000] ÷ 16 hours = mL per hour
1,000 mL ÷ 16 hours = 62.5 mL per hour

 You are going to start IV infusion with Plain Lactated

Ringer’s Solution 1 L. By regulating it for 11 hours, how
much fluid are you going to infuse per minute?

Total IV volume ÷ time (hour or minute) = mL per minute

1 L ÷ 11 hours = mL per minute
[1 L x 1,000] ÷ [11 hours x 60] = mL per minute
1,000 mL÷ [11 hours x 60] = mL per minute
1,000 mL ÷ 660 = 1.5 mL per minute

Calculate IV Rate – drops per minute

Calculating for drops per minute is simple with the following

formula:
 [TOTAL IV VOLUME ÷ TIME (MINUTE)] X DROP

FACTOR = DROPS PER MINUTE

The total IV volume is the amount of IV fluid to be infused while
time is the duration of how long the IV fluid should be infused in
terms of minutes.

The drop factor is the “drops per milliliter” delivered to the patient
and it depends on the macrodrip used for the infusion. The common
drop factors used in different hospitals are 10, 15 and 20.

Example:

 The physician orders to start venoclysis with D5 0.3 NaCl 1

L solution. The IV fluid will be infused for 14 hours and the
drop factor of the macrodrip used is 20. It should be
regulated to how many drops per minute?

[Total IV volume ÷ time (minute) ] x drop factor = drops per

minute
[1 L ÷ 14 hours] x 20 = drops per minute
[{1 L x 1,000} ÷ {14 hours x 60} ] x 20 = drops per minute
[1,000 mL ÷ 840 minutes] x 20 = drops per minute
1.19 x 20 = 23 to 24 drops per minute
  You are going to regulate D5 0.9 NaCl 500 mL solution for 7
hours. The macrodrip used has 15 drop factor. You should
regulate the IV fluid for how many drops per minute?

[Total IV volume ÷ time (minute) ] x drop factor = drops per

minute
[500 mL ÷ 7 hours] x 15 = drops per minute
[500 mL ÷ {7 hours x 60}] x 15 = drops per minute
[500 ÷ 420] x 15 = drops per minute
1.19 x 15 = 17 to 18 drops per minute

Calculate IV Rate – Remaining Time of Infusion

Calculating for the remaining time of infusion for a certain IV fluid is

possible with the following formula:

[VOLUME REMAINING (IN ML) ÷ DROPS PER

MINUTE] X DROP FACTOR = MINUTES
REMAINING
The volume remaining is the amount of IV fluid remaining for the
infusion while the drops per minute is the regulation of the IV
infusion. The drop factor can be determined in the macrodrip used
in the hospital.
Example:

 You see that your patient has D5 0.9 NaCl IV infusion at

400 mL level. It is regulated to run for 22 drops per minute
using a macrodrip set with drop factor 20. How many
minutes are remaining before you are due to change the IV
fluid?

[Volume remaining (in mL) ÷ drops per minute] x drop factor =

minutes remaining

[400 mL ÷ 22] x 20 = minutes remaining

18.18 x 20 = 363 minutes or 6 hours

 A patient has 350 mL of Plain 0.9 NaCl solution as IV

infusion regulated at 20 drops per minute. Drop factor 10
was used for the patient’s macrodrip set. Considering the IV
fluid level of the patient, for how many minutes will it run?

[Volume remaining (in mL) ÷ drops per minute] x drop factor =

minutes remaining

[350 mL ÷ 20] x 10 = minutes remaining

17.5 x 10 = 175 minutes or 3 hours