Rounding Rules for Medication Administration

Question 1

expressing fluid/liquid dose give by syringe –>

Answer 1

• if the dosage to be given via syringe is > (greater than) 1 mL, round to the 10th place. DO NOT INCLUDE TRAILING ZEROS
• If the dosage to be given via syringe is < (less than) 1 mL, round to the 100th place

Question 2

Adult and Pediatric dosages based on body weight (in kg)

Answer 2

• For pediatric patients weighing more than 10kg, and for adults, round to the 10th place.
• For pediatric patients weighing 10 kg or less, round to the 100th place.

Question 3

Pediatric Dosages - determining if ordered dose is safe/therapeutic

Answer 3

When calculating recommended dosage range, express the answer in whole numbers

Question 4

IV fluids/ IV medication infusing via pump

Answer 4

• regular maintenance IV fluids such as NS, LR, D5W, etc and any regular maintenance IV fluid with KCl added - set hourly infusion rate as a whole number
• Medication drips (primary IV bag with medication added - such as heparin, insulin, dopamine, etc) - round hourly rate to the 10th place
• Medication given as an IVPB (secondary bag such as antibiotic, etc) - set hourly infusion rate as a whole number

Question 5

IV fluids/IV medication infusing via gravity

Answer 5

When calculating gtt / min, round to a whole number (include drug measurements in the answer if one is not provided in the space for the answer)