A nurse is preparing to administer atenolol 50 mg PO daily. The medication is available as 100 mg tablets. How many tablets should be administered per dose?

A nurse is preparing to administer atenolol 50 mg PO daily. The medication is available as 100 mg tablets. How many tablets should be administered per dose?

• A. 0.25 tablets
• B. 0.5 tablets
• C. 0.75 tablets
• D. 1 tablet

Answer: (B)

When you need to know how many tablets to give, use the strength of each tablet to scale to the prescribed amount. Here, the patient should receive 50 mg, and each tablet has 100 mg. Divide the desired dose by the tablet strength: 50 mg ÷ 100 mg per tablet = 0.5 tablet. So, half a tablet is needed to deliver 50 mg. In practice, confirm that the tablet can be safely split (often it must be scored) before giving half a tablet.

When you need to know how many tablets to give, use the strength of each tablet to scale to the prescribed amount. Here, the patient should receive 50 mg, and each tablet has 100 mg. Divide the desired dose by the tablet strength: 50 mg ÷ 100 mg per tablet = 0.5 tablet. So, half a tablet is needed to deliver 50 mg. In practice, confirm that the tablet can be safely split (often it must be scored) before giving half a tablet.