Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
Published byLeslie Tyler Modified over 6 years ago
1
Chapter 5 Unit, Percentage, Milliequivalent, Ratio, Household, and Apothecary Measures
2
International Units Measure drug’s action Not abbreviated
Not weight Not abbreviated Previously accepted abbreviation (U) on Joint Commission (JC) “Do Not Use” list
3
International Units Written using Arabic numbers followed by space and word “unit” Commas not used unless at least five digits e.g., 6 units, 1000 units, 250,000 units
4
International Units Common medications expressed in units Insulin
Heparin
5
Percentage Measurements
Indicate parts per 100 Greater the percentage, stronger the solution
6
Percentage Measurements
Used primarily in intravenous (IV) solutions Also used in topical, ophthalmic, and otic solutions For skin, eyes, and ears
7
Percentage Measurements
In solutions, represent number of grams of drug per 100 mL of solution e.g., 100 mL of 5% solution contains 5 g of drug e.g., 100 mL of 0.9% solution contains 0.9 g of drug
8
Percentage Measurements
Dextrose and sodium chloride Most common percentage dosages Dextrose dosages written as whole number e.g., 5% dextrose in water (D5W) Sodium chloride dosages written as decimal fraction e.g., 0.45% sodium chloride
9
Milliequivalent (mEq) Measurements
Expression of number of grams of drug in 1 mL of normal solution
10
mEq Dosages Written using Arabic numbers followed by space and abbreviation mEq Used in variety of oral and IV solutions e.g., potassium chloride most commonly used 20 milliequivalents written as 20 mEq KCl
11
Percentage and mEq Measures
Solutions with combination of percentage and mEq measures e.g., 5% dextrose in water with 0.45% sodium chloride and 20 milliequivalents of potassium chloride written as 20 mEq KCl in D 5%/0.45% NaCl
12
Ratio Measures Strengths primarily used to describe solutions
Written using Arabic numbers followed by space, colon, space, and another Arabic number
13
Ratio Measures Ratio strengths represent parts of drug per parts of solution Less solution drug is dissolved in, stronger the solution Solution of 1 : 100 contains one part drug to 100 parts solution
14
Household Measures One of the oldest drug measurement systems
Volume measurements include ounce, tablespoon, teaspoon, dram, and drop Volume of drop depends on size of dropper being used
15
Household Measures Drop is integral part of small volume medication preparation Including those for eye, ear, and nose Drop used almost exclusively with medications with attached dropper
16
Household/Metric Equivalents
Abbreviation Metric 1 Ounce oz 30 mL 1 Tablespoon tbsp 15 mL 1 Teaspoon tsp 5 mL 1 Drop gtt 1 mL
17
Apothecary Measures Obsolete and should not be used
Similar presentations
© 2025 SlidePlayer.com. Inc.
All rights reserved.