The International System of Units

Yewande Dayo
Student Pharmacist
Objectives
 Demonstrate an understanding of SI units
 Convert units within SI units
 State equivalent measure between SI units and other
systems of measure used in pharmacy practice
 Convert between SI units and other systems of measure
used in pharmacy practice
 Apply SI units correctly in calculations
The International System of Units
 Was formerly called the metric system and it is the
internationally recognized decimal system of weights and
measures

 The base units of the SI are the meter and kilogram

 For length, the primary unit is the meter

 For volume, the primary unit is the liter

 For weight, the primary unit is the gram

 Subdivisions and multiples of the primary units, their relative

values and corresponding prefixes are shown in the table
below
Guidelines for Using SI Units
 Unit names and symbols are not capitalized except in
headings and beginning of a sentence. Exception for liter.
May be capitalized or in lower case.
 e.g. 2 L or 2 l, 3 mm and 4 g; not 3 Mm and 4 G

 Periods are not used following SI symbols except at the

end of a sentence
 e.g. 4 mL and 4 g, not 4 mL. and 4 g.

 A compound unit that is a ratio or quotient of two units

is indicated by a solidus (/) or a negative exponent.
 e.g. 5 mL/h or 5 mLh-1 , not 5 mL per hour
 Symbols should not be combined with spelled-out terms
in the same expression
 e.g. 3 mg/mL not 3 mg/milliliter
 Plurals of units when spelled out, have an added “s”.
 5 mLs is wrong!
 Two acceptable symbols of microgram – mcg & µg
 Symbol for square meter is m2
 Cubic centimeter cm3 = mL; CC not accepted in SI
 Decimal fractions are used not common fractions
 3.25 not 3 1/2
 To prevent medication errors, a zero should be placed in
front of a leading decimal point
 e.g. 0.5 g not .5 g

 Trailing zeros should not be placed following a whole

number on prescriptions
 e.g. 5 mg, not 5.0 mg

 when selecting units, the unit that will result in a numeric

value of between 1 and 1000 is selected
 e.g. 500g not 0.5kg; 1.96 kg not 1960 g; 750 mL not
0.75 L
Some Applications of SI units in Pharmacy
 Manufacture/labeling of pharmaceutical products
 In kilogram and kiloliter quantities
 Write, fill and compound Rx and medication orders
 Usually in gram, milligram and microgram quantities
 Dose patients
 Milligram or microgram amounts e.g. 325mg or 30
mg/5 mL
 Express laboratory results
 mg/dL

 Nanotechnology
 1 – 1000 nm
Measurements of Length
 The primary unit of length is the meter
 1 kilometer (km) = 1000.000 meters
 1 hectometer (hm) = 100.000 meters
 1 dekameter (dam) = 10.000 meters
 1 meter (m) = 1.000 meter
 1 decimeter (dm) = 0.100 meter
 1 centimeter (cm) = 0.010 meter
 1 millimeter (mm) = 0.001 meter
 1 micrometer (μm) = 0.000,001 meter
 1 nanometer (nm) = 0.000,000,001 meter
 Conversion of the most common length denominations
 1000 millimeters (mm) = 100 centimeters (cm)
 100 centimeters (cm) = 1 meter (m)
Measurements of Volume
 The primary unit of volume is the liter
1 kiloliter (kL) = 1000.000 liters
 1 hectoliter (hL)= 100.000 liters
 1 decaliter (daL)= 10.000 liters
 1 liter (L) = 1.000 liter
 1 deciliter (dL)= 0.100 liter
 1 centiliter (cL) = 0.010 liter
 1 milliliter (mL) = 0.001 liter
 1 microliter (µL)= 0.000,001 liter
Measurements of Weight
 The primary unit of weight is the gram
1 kilogram (kg) = 1000.000 grams
 1 hectogram (hg)= 100.000 grams
 1 decagram (dag)= 10.000 grams
 1 gram (L) = 1.000 gram
 1 decigram (dL)= 0.100 gram
 1 centigram (cL) = 0.010 gram
 1 milligram (mL) = 0.001 gram
 1 microgram (µL)= 0.000,001gram
Prescriptions Written Using SI Units
 These use Arabic numerals before the abbreviations
for the denominations
 10 g; 300 mL
 Weights are written as grams and decimals of a gram
 3 g or 3.4 g
 Volumes are written as milliliters and decimals of a
milliliter
 5 mL or 20.5 mL
 E.g. RX Dextromethorphan HBr 320 mg
Guiafenesin 3.2 g
Cherry Syrup, to make 240 mL
Conversion of SI Units
 To change a unit to the next smaller denomination, move the
decimal point one place to the right
 To change a unit to the next larger denomination, move the
decimal point one place to the left
Other Systems of Measurement
 Two other systems of measurement exist
 The avoirdupois system (widely used in the US for measuring weight
and selling goods; predominant in commerce)
 The apothecary system (used to be predominant in pharmacy for
volume and weight measure)
Example 1
 A patient receives 500 mcg of estradiol benzoate by
injection every day for 3 weeks. How many grams of
estradiol benzoate does the patient receive during the
course of therapy?
Example 2
 Two kilograms of a drug are used to make 40,000 tablets.
 (a) How many milligrams are in each tablet
 (b) How many grams would be required to make 60
tablets?
Example 3
 One pint of a cough syrup is dispensed to a patient who
takes 1 tablespoonful of the syrup four times a day for a
week. How many doses of the syrup will remain in the
original bottle after the full course of therapy?
Example 4
 If a vial contains 40 mg of tobramycin sulfate per milliliter,
how many micrograms of tobramycin sulfate would be in
0.1 mL?
Example 5
 A prescription calls for 0.060 g of one ingredient, 2.5 mg
of another and enough of a third to make 0.5 g. How
many milligrams of the third ingredient should be used?
Example 6
 Are the terms mcg/mL and mg/L equivalent or not
equivalent?
Example 7
 How many grams of digoxin (LANOXIN) would be
required to make 25,000 tablets each containing 250
mcg of digoxin?
Example 8
 A patient is instructed to take three 50-mcg tablets of
pergolide mesylate (PERMAX) daily. How many
milligrams of the drug would the patient receive
weekly?
Example 9
 A liquid oral concentrate of morphine sulfate
contains 2.4 g of morphine sulfate in a 120-mL bottle.
Calculate the concentration of morphine sulfate on a
mg/mL basis.
Example 10
 An intravenous solution contains 500 µg of a drug
substance in each milliliter. How many milligrams of
the drug would a patient receive from the
intravenous infusion of a liter of the solution?
Example 11
 A vial contains 80 mg of drug in 2 mL of injection.
How many milliliters of the injection should be
administered to obtain 0.02 g of drug?
Example 12
 A 125-mL container of amoxicillin contains 600 mg/5
mL. How many milliliters would be used to administer
400 mg of amoxicillin?
Case 1
 A nurse telephones a pharmacy regarding the proper
quantity of an injection to administer to a pediatric
patient from a 1-mL vial containing 0.1 mg of digoxin. The
attending physician had prescribed a dose of 25 mcg. How
many milliliters should be the pharmacist’s response?
Case 2
 A hospital pharmacist is asked to prepare an intravenous
infusion of dopamine. Based on the patient’s weight, the
pharmacist calculates a dose of 500 mcg/min for continuous
infusion. The concentration of a premixed dopamine infusion is
400 mg/250 mL. What is the concentration of the infusion on a
mcg/mL basis? How many milligrams of dopamine is the
patient to receive in the first hour of treatment? How long will
the infusion last?