Pediatric Dosage Calculation Notes
Most drugs in children are dosed according to body weight (mg/kg) or body surface area (BSA) (mg/m2). Care must be taken to properly convert body weight from pounds to kilograms (1 kg = 2.2 lb) before calculating doses based on body weight. Doses are often expressed as mg/kg/day or mg/kg/dose; therefore, orders written "mg/kg/d", which is confusing, require further clarification from the prescriber.
Chemotherapeutic drugs are commonly dosed according to body surface area, which requires an extra verification step (BSA calculation) prior to dosing. Medications are available in multiple concentrations, therefore orders written in "mL" rather than "mg" are not acceptable and require further clarification.
Dosing also varies by indication; therefore, diagnostic information is helpful when calculating doses. The following examples are typically encountered when dosing medication in children.
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