Worked example

Oral dose - tablets - practice problem 7

The prescriber orders 5 mg of lisinopril PO. The pharmacy stocks lisinopril in 10 mg tablets.

Ordered dose5 mg

On hand10 mg per tablet

How many tablets should the nurse give?

Answer: 0.5 tablets

Step-by-step solution

1. Identify what you have and what you want

Have: 10 mg per tablet · Want: 5 mg

2. Set up dimensional analysis so mg cancels

5 mg × ( 1 tablet ÷ 10 mg )

3. Cancel mg and solve

= ( 5 × 1 ) ÷ 10 tablet

= 0.5 tablets