A woman at 36 weeks' gestation is admitted to the hospital to receive a tocolytic medication in an attempt to stop labor. In addition, betamethasone (Celestone) is prescribed to enhance fetal lung maturity. The prescription reads: administer betamethasone 12 my IM daily for 3 days. The betamethasone comes in a vial labeled 6mg/mL. How many millimeters should the nurse administer each day?

The answer is 2 milliliters or 2 mL.

Explanation:

Betamethasone is considered a steroid medication. It is used to treat varieties of condition such as skin rashes, arthritis and in the case above, fetal lung maturity. When it comes to fetal lung maturity, Betamethasone is usually administered to women who are in the gestation period of 34 weeks to 36 weeks, depending on the condition. It is administered through the muscles also known as "IM" or "intramuscular" and the usual dosage is 12 mg. In the case above, it is asking for the mililiters of administration considering that the order was 12 mg IM daily for three days. Since the Betamethasone comes in a 6mg/mL vial, you have to compute how much Betamethasone is to be given.

If there's 6 mg of Betamethasone per 1 mL, then this means that there's 12 mg of the medication in 2 mL.

So, the answer is 2 mL.