3 Ways To Calculate The Right Dose Of Children's Medicine, Complete With Formulas And Examples

Illustration of children taking drugs (Photo: Freepik).

YOGYAKARTA Information about how to calculate children's drugs is very important to know, because each child needs a different dose of medicine, depending on age, weight, and health condition.

In children, giving too small doses will cause the medicine to work properly in the body. On the other hand, too large doses can increase the risk of unwanted side effects.

Compiled from various sources, there are at least three methods or methods that can be used to calculate children's drugs, including:

How to calculate drugs based on child weight is the most frequently used method in the medical world.

To calculate drug doses based on child weight, use the following formula:

For example:

The paracetamol dose for children is 10 mg/kbb for one drink. If the child weighs 12 kg, the required dose is:

= 120 mg for one drink.

So, for children with a weight of 12 kg, the recommended dose of paracetamol is 120 mg every time they are given.

For information, in children, paracetamol can be given at intervals of 4 hours aka 6 times a day.

Drug dose calculations can also be done using the Clark method. Quoted from the NCBI page, this method uses the patient's weight equation divided by standard weight an average of 150 pounds (70 kg) multiplied by a dose of adult medicine to get a pediatric dose

Here's the formula for Clark's rules for calculating children's doses of drugs:

For example:

The maximum dose of paracetamol for adults is 4000 mg in split dose. If the child's weight is 10 kg, then the calculation of the dose is as follows:

= 571.4 per day in split dose.

Because paracetamol can be given every 4 hours aka 6 times a day, the calculation of one drink dose becomes:

571.4:6 = 95.2 mg for one drink. Especially for paracetamol, this figure can be rounded up to 100 mg for one drink.

Cara mengungut dosis obat anak berdasarkan luas dalam dapat memberikan hasil yang akurat, lantaran metode ini mengungjamkan kebedaan metabolic obat pada anak-anak yang berhubungan dengan ukuran tubuh mereka, dikutip dari laman British Journal of Anaesthesia.

The following is a formula for calculating a child's drug dose based on the body's surface area:

To understand more, pay attention to the following examples:

The maximum dose of paracetamol for adults is 500 mg for disposable. If the child weighs 10 kg, how many doses of medicine are needed?

= (10 x 2) % 500 mg

= (20)% 500 mg

= 100 mg

From the above calculation, children weighing 10 kg will receive a dose of 100 mg of paracetamol for single use.

That's information about how to calculate a child's drug dose. Get news updates of other options only on VOI.ID.