The physician wants a patient to have a loading dose of 750 mg of an antibiotic and the subsequent dose will be 375 mg bid. The medication on hand is 375 mg tablets. Which combination is correct?

The physician wants a patient to have a loading dose of 750 mg of an antibiotic and the subsequent dose will be 375 mg bid. The medication on hand is 375 mg tablets. Which combination is correct?

• A. Two tablets now and then one tablet twice a day
• B. One tablet now and then two tablets twice a day
• C. Three tablets now and then one tablet daily
• D. Two tablets now and then two tablets twice a day

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that a loading dose is a larger initial amount to quickly reach therapeutic levels, followed by a maintenance dose to keep them there. Each tablet is 375 mg, so a 750 mg loading dose is two tablets given at once. After that, the prescribed maintenance is 375 mg administered twice daily, which means one tablet every 12 hours. So the correct plan is to give two tablets now (to reach 750 mg) and then take one tablet twice daily. The other schedules would either underdose the loading, overfill the maintenance amount, or give a different maintenance amount than prescribed.

The main idea is that a loading dose is a larger initial amount to quickly reach therapeutic levels, followed by a maintenance dose to keep them there. Each tablet is 375 mg, so a 750 mg loading dose is two tablets given at once. After that, the prescribed maintenance is 375 mg administered twice daily, which means one tablet every 12 hours. So the correct plan is to give two tablets now (to reach 750 mg) and then take one tablet twice daily. The other schedules would either underdose the loading, overfill the maintenance amount, or give a different maintenance amount than prescribed.