Glossarium

Prescription drug dosage is based typically on body weight. Drugs come with a recommended dose in milligrams or micrograms per kilogram of body weight, and that is used in conjunction with the patient's body weight to determine a safe dosage. In single dosage scenarios, the patient's body weight and the drug's recommended doses per kilogram are used to determine a safe one-time dose. In drugs where multiple doses of treatment are needed in a day, the physician must take into account information regarding the total amount of the drug which is safe to use in one day, and how that should be broken up into intervals for the most effective treatment for the patient. Medication underdosing occurs commonly when physicians write prescriptions for a dosage that is correct for a certain time, but fails to increase the dosage as the patient needs change (i.e. weight based dosing in children, or increasing dosages of chemotherapy drugs if a patient’s condition worsens). Wikipedia

When a veterinary practitioner has to write a prescription, he has to estimate the daily dose that should be administered to the animal to obtain the expected biological effect. Estimation of the daily dose of a drug is typically based on the animal body weight and a recommended dose that is usually presented in milligrams or micrograms per kilogram of body weight. Dosing information is usually presented in the section for the health professional of the product monograph more specifically in the Compendium of veterinary products (Canadian edition). When multiple doses of treatment are needed in a day, the veterinarian must take into account information regarding the total amount of the drug which is safe to use in one day, and how that should be broken up into intervals for the most effective treatment of the animal. Wiki team