How many capsules should a client take if they are prescribed 2 mg of a medication every 2 hours from 250 mg capsules?

To determine how many capsules the client should take, it is essential to convert the prescribed dosage into the number of capsules that contain that amount.

The prescription states that the client needs 2 mg of medication every 2 hours. First, we need to identify how many doses are taken in 24 hours. Since there are 24 hours in a day, the client will take 12 doses within that timeframe (24 hours ÷ 2 hours per dose = 12 doses).

Now, calculate the total daily dosage required:

2 mg per dose × 12 doses = 24 mg total required per day.

Next, we consider the capsule concentration. Each capsule contains 250 mg of the medication. To find out how many capsules are needed to meet the daily requirement of 24 mg, we can set up the ratio of the total required dosage to the amount per capsule.

Since the amount in one capsule is 250 mg, which is significantly higher than the daily requirement of 24 mg, the client will only need a fraction of one capsule for their total daily need. To find out how many capsules are necessary for 2 mg per dose:

2 mg (desired dose) ÷ 250 mg (per capsule) = 0.008