If a patient needs Penicillin at 50,000 units and the pharmacy dispenses it in vials of 250,000 units, how should it be given?

To determine how much of the vial should be dispensed to meet the patient's needs, we begin by comparing the dose required to the total amount in the vial. The patient requires 50,000 units of Penicillin, and each vial contains 250,000 units.

To find out what fraction of the vial is needed, we can set up a simple calculation. We can divide the required dose by the total amount in the vial:

50,000 units (required dose) ÷ 250,000 units (amount in vial) = 0.2

This indicates that the required amount is 0.2 of the total vial. To express this as a fraction of the vial:

0.2 can be represented as 1/5. Therefore, the correct answer corresponds to administering 1/5 of the vial.

Administering 1/5 of the vial ensures that the patient receives the exact amount of Penicillin they need without excess, which is critical for both efficacy and safety in medication administration.