Injectable Liquids
Unit Measures
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Injectable medications
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May be unstable in solution
Packaged in powder form. Package or label directions must be followed
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Amount and type of diluent to use
Strength of the prepared solution
Proper storage after reconstitution
Length of time the preparation can be safely used
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Package directions may list
several preparation
methods to yield different
strengths of medication
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Select the strength closest to
the ordered dose
Consider the number of
injections required for
administration
The ordered dose should be
administered in one
injection
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Med may come with its own liquid for mixing
and if this is the case, that liquid must be
used. 
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If liquid not provided, label will advise if there are
any restrictions regarding the liquid to use. Most
Commonly the liquid used is either sterile normal
saline or sterile bacteriostatic water
 Pharmacy
 Floor stock 
Powders designed for oral use may be able to be
reconstituted with tap water.
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Click to edit Master text
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Second level
 Third level
 Fourth level
 Fifth level
Main Components of a Label
1. How to store the medication.
2. NDC number identifies the product.
3. Name of the medication. Some labels
styles
will have both Brand (Trade) name and
generic name.
4. Concentration of the medication in the
vial. Total amount of diluent
5. Unit dose of medication
6. How much liquid is in the vial after
proper reconstitution.
7. How the medication should be
administered
8. Usual dose of the medication.
9. Batch from which medication was taken
from.
10. The last date the medication can be
safely used.
11. Name of pharmaceutical company who
manufactured medication.
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Multi-dose vial mark on the container
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Date and time of preparation
Strength of the resulting solution
Expiration of potency
Storage directions
Initials
Practice
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
How is the med stored?
What is the NDC number?
What is the name of the
medication?
Concentration of the medication
in the vial? Total amount of
diluent?
Unit dose of medication?
How much liquid is in the vial
after proper reconstitution?
How the medication should be
administered?
Usual dose of the medication?
Batch from which medication
was taken?
The last date the medication can
be safely used?
Name of manufacturer?
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On the following drug label, identify the routes
for administration for which this preparation
can be used. 
After reconstitution with 2.5 mL diluent, the
strength of the Kefzol solution is 330 mg/ mL. To administer a dose of 500 mg, how
many mL would you give?
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Order: Prostaphlin
500 mg IM q6h
Label reads:
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Give ________ mL
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Prostaphlin
oxacillin sodium for
injection
For IM use add 11.5 mL
Sterile Water for
InjectionU.S.P. Each 1.5 mL of solution
contains 250 mg
oxacillin.
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Order: Ticar 500 mg
IM stat and q8h
Label reads:
How many mL
would be given?
Ticar
ticarcillin disodium
For IV or IM use. Add
12 mL Sterile Water for
Injection, U.S.P.
or 1% Lidocaine HCl
solution (without
epinephrine). Each 2.5
mL of solution will then
contain 1 g ticarcillin.
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The medication ordered is 22 units Humulin R
and 36 units Humulin N. You have 30 unit, 50
unit, and 100 unit syringes available to you.
Which syringe would be the best choice to use?
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The medication ordered is 32 units regular and
40 units NPH. What is the total number of
units of the combined dosage?
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According to the label, this medication is to be
used within 48 hours of being mixed. If the drug
was mixed at 0800 on 6/10, at what time and date
should it be discarded? Choose the letter that
corresponds with the correct answer.
0800 on 6/11
0800 on 6/12
0700 on 6/12
0800 on 6/13
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The directions for reconstitution of a 1 g vial of
antibiotic state to add 10 mL sterile water for
injection, which yields a final volume of 11 mL.
What is the dosage strength? Round to the
nearest whole number.
_________mg/mL
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According to the label, the dosage strength of a
medication is 62.5 mg/mL. If you have 2 mL of
the medication, how many mg do you have?
___________mg
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After an antibiotic is reconstituted, it must be
stored in a refrigerator and used within 96
hours. A vial is prepared 05/13 at 0800. When
does it expire?
05/16 at 0800
05/14 at 2000
05/17 at 0800
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An antibiotic has been reconstituted for IM
injection with a dosage strength of 280 mg/mL.
There is now 1.8 mL in the vial. You need to
give 250 mg every 12 hours. How many
complete doses are in the vial?
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Order: 1 gram of an antibiotic 30 minutes prior
to surgery. Supply: 2 gram vial to be
reconstituted with 5 mL of sterile water for
injection for an approximate final volume of 6
mL. What is the dosage strength after
reconstitution? Round to the nearest whole
number.
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You are preparing an IV dose of an antibiotic.
Which dose is the least concentrated?
Which is the most concentrated?
A) 1,000,000 units per mL
B) 500,000 units per mL
C) 250,000 units per mL
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The order is for 300,000 units of an antibiotic.
According to the label, the dosage strength
prepared by adding 8.2 mL of diluent is 500,000
units/mL. How many mL of diluted drug will
be needed for this order?
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You are preparing a medication for IM
injection. The dose ordered is 200 mg. The vial
contains 500 mg. What is the best choice for
reconstitution?
A) Add 9.9 mL to get a final dosage strength
of 50 mg/mL.
B) Add 3.8 mL to get a final dosage strength
of 125 mg/mL.
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400,000 units of a medication is ordered.
According to the label, if 18.2 mL of diluent is
added, the resulting dosage strength will be
250,000 units/mL. How many mL of diluted
med will you need for this order?
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The order is for 1800 mg. According to the
label, if 3 mL of diluent is added, the resulting
dosage strength will be 300 mg/mL. How
many mL of diluted med will you need for this
order?
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The daily dosage of a medication is equal to 10
mL. According to the label, there are 50 mL in
the bottle. How many days will it take for the
patient to take all the medication?
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The medication label on the vial containing 6 g
of medication instructs you to add 56 mL of
diluent to make a final concentration of one
gram in every 10 mL. How many mL total will
there be in the vial after the diluent is added?
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The medication label on the vial containing
5,000,000 units instructs you to add 8.2 mL of
diluent to make a final concentration of 500,000
units/mL. How many mL total will there be in
the vial after the diluent is added?
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The order is for 500 mg. According to the label,
4.8 mL of diluent should be added to make a
final concentration of 100 mg/mL. How many
mL of diluted drug are needed for this order?
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300 mg of a medication is ordered. According
to the label, 3 mL of diluent should be added to
make a final concentration of 300 mg/mL. How
many mL of diluted drug are needed for this
order?
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The medication order is for 800,000 units.
According to the label, 3.2 mL of diluent
should be added to make a final concentration
of 1,000,000 units/mL. How many mL of
diluted drug are needed for this order?
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The order is for 250 mg 3 times per day.
According to the label, the dosage strength is
250 mg/5 mL. How many mL will the patient
take in one day
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500,000 units of a medication is ordered.
According to the label, this vial contains
5,000,000 units. How many doses will this vial
cover?
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According to the label, the vial contains 500
mg. How many doses of 125 mg each will this
vial cover?
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According to the label, a vial containing one
gram of a medication should be reconstituted
with 3 mL sterile water. The dosage strength
will be 300 mg/mL. Calculate how many mL
will be in the one-gram vial after
reconstitution.
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According to the label for an oral suspension,
to reconstitute the med, 67 mL sterile water
should be added to the powder. The resulting
solution will measure 75 mL due to the volume
of the powdered drug. What quantity in mL of
the 75 mL represents the volume of the drug?
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1 g of an antibiotic is ordered. According to the
instructions, 20 mL sterile water should be
added to the 1 g vial to reconstitute the med.
The resulting dosage strength is 50 mg/mL.
How many mL will be needed for a 1 g dose?
___________mL
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The medication order is for 100 mg. According
to the label, after reconstitution with 30 mL of
diluent, the dosage strength of this med is 40
mg/mL. How many mL will be needed for this
order?
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The medication order is for 1 g. According to
the label, after reconstitution with 2 mL of
diluent, the dosage strength of this med is 1
g/2.6 mL. How many mL will be needed for
this order?
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The order is 0.5 g. According to the label, after
reconstitution with 10 mL of diluent, the
dosage strength of this med is 50 mg/mL. How
many mL will be needed for this order?
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The order is for 500 mg. According to the label,
after reconstitution with 4.8 mL of diluent, the
dosage strength of this med is 100 mg/mL.
How many mL will be needed for this order?
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The amount ordered is 120 mg. According to
the label, after reconstitution with 30 mL of
diluent, the dosage strength of this med is 40
mg/mL. How many mL will be needed for this
order?
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According to the medication label, adding 25
mL of diluent produces a dosage strength of 1
g/5 mL. The other choice for reconstituting
states that adding 56 mL of diluent produces a
dosage strength of 1 g/10 mL. Which amount
of diluent would you choose to use to make the
med more concentrated?
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The medication ordered is Humulin® NPH 12
units. What information is missing from the
order?
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Consider the medication Humulin N U-100.
What is the dosage strength of this drug?
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Identify the action time of Humulin N.
A) rapid
B) intermediate
C) long
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The medication ordered is Humulin 50/50 40
units. To how many units will a 50 unit insulin
syringe be filled for this dosage?
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The medication ordered is 42 units Humulin
50/50. To how many units will a 50 unit
syringe be filled for this dosage?
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The medication ordered is 12 units Humulin R.
To how many units will a 30 unit insulin
syringe be filled for this dosage?
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The medication ordered is 18 units Novolin R.
You have 30 unit, 50 unit, and 100 unit syringes
available to you. Which syringe would be the
best choice to use?
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The medication ordered is 57 units Humulin
50/50. You have 30 unit, 50 unit, and 100 unit
syringes available to you. Which syringe would
be the best choice to use?
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The combined insulin dosage is 8 units regular
and 10 units Humulin® N. Indicate how many
units should be drawn up in the syringe first
and then how many units total to draw into the
syringe.
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The combined insulin dosage is 22 units
regular and 25 units Humulin N. Indicate how
many units should be drawn up in the syringe
first and then how many units total to draw
into the syringe.