9. A prescriber orders 1000 mg of a certain medication. If the label on the stock bottle indicates that each tablet contains 0.1 g, how many tablets should the patient receive?
Answer: B
The patient should receive 10 tablets.
To determine the number of tablets needed for a 1000 mg dose, it is essential to convert the tablet dosage from grams to milligrams. Since each tablet contains 0.1 g, this is equivalent to 100 mg per tablet. Therefore, dividing the total required dose of 1000 mg by the dose per tablet (100 mg) results in 10 tablets.
A) 1
This option is incorrect because administering only 1 tablet would provide a dose of 100 mg, which is far less than the required 1000 mg. The calculation shows that a higher number of tablets is necessary to meet the prescriber's order.
B) 10
This option is correct because each tablet contains 100 mg, and to achieve a total dose of 1000 mg, the calculation shows that 10 tablets must be administered (1000 mg ÷ 100 mg/tablet = 10 tablets).
C) 100
This option is incorrect as it suggests administering 100 tablets, which would provide a total dose of 10,000 mg (100 mg x 100 tablets). This amount exceeds the prescribed dose of 1000 mg by a significant margin.
D) 1000
This option is also incorrect because giving 1000 tablets would result in a total dose of 100,000 mg (100 mg x 1000 tablets). Such an amount is excessively higher than the prescribed dose and would not be appropriate.
Conclusion
The correct answer is 10 tablets, as this aligns with the required dose of 1000 mg, based on the strength of each tablet being 100 mg. All other options fail because they either underdose or overdose the patient significantly, demonstrating a clear misunderstanding of the dosage calculation required.