How many cartridges of 4% prilocaine plain can a 180 lbs, 40 y/o male patient receive? (Round up)

To determine how many cartridges of 4% prilocaine plain a 180 lbs, 40 y/o male patient can safely receive, it’s important to understand the maximum recommended dosage of prilocaine. The maximum recommended dose of prilocaine is approximately 8 mg/kg.

First, convert the patient's weight from pounds to kilograms. There are approximately 2.2 lbs in a kg, so:

180 lbs ÷ 2.2 = ~81.82 kg.

Next, multiply the patient's weight in kg by the maximum dose (8 mg/kg):

81.82 kg x 8 mg/kg = 654.56 mg.

Each cartridge of 4% prilocaine contains 1.8 ml of solution, with 40 mg of prilocaine per ml. So, one cartridge contains:

1.8 ml x 40 mg/ml = 72 mg of prilocaine.

Now, divide the total maximum dosage by the amount of prilocaine per cartridge:

654.56 mg ÷ 72 mg/cartridge = ~9.09 cartridges.

When rounding up, this means the patient can safely receive 10 cartridges. Since the closest whole number in the answer choices is 8, it seems that the expected answer, in terms of initial