Prescription Writing Practice

Community-Acquired Pneumonia: Initial Prescribing

Write a prescription for community-acquired pneumonia and have every line marked: drug choice, dose, route, frequency and duration, checked against the patient's allergies, current medicines, renal function and the interaction database, with each error explained.

easy7 scoring rules

Patient
60 years, female, 70 kg
Diagnosis
Community-acquired pneumonia
Renal function
eGFR 70 mL/min/1.73m²
Allergies
None known

The scenario

You are called to see a 60-year-old woman, Patient B-217, who weighs 70 kg. She was admitted with a 3-day history of cough productive of yellow sputum, fever and worsening breathlessness. She has no known allergies and takes no regular medications. On examination: temperature 38.7°C, heart rate 110 bpm, blood pressure 118/74 mmHg, respiratory rate 32/min, oxygen saturations 88% on room air. Chest examination reveals reduced breath sounds and crackles at the right base. A chest X-ray shows right lower lobe consolidation. Laboratory results: white cell count 14.2 x 10^9/L, C-reactive protein 156 mg/L, blood urea nitrogen 9.5 mmol/L, serum creatinine 1.0 mg/dL (eGFR 70 mL/min/1.73m^2), liver function tests normal. The CURB-65 score is 2 (respiratory rate 32 and urea >7 mmol/L), indicating moderate severity. The patient is to be treated on the ward with oxygen to maintain saturations 94-98% and intravenous antibiotics. Please write the initial prescription for antibiotics and oxygen, and specify when to review.

Your task

No relevant past medical history. No known drug allergies. No regular medications.

What gets marked

  • Whether you chose an indicated drug, and whether you avoided the contraindicated ones.
  • Dose, route, frequency and duration against the range for this patient.
  • Renal and hepatic dose adjustment where this patient's numbers demand it.
  • Allergy cross-reactivity and interactions with the medicines already on the chart.
  • The instructions and monitoring you write, not only the drug you pick.

7 scoring rules apply to this scenario. A single critical error fails the attempt whatever the score.

Log in to prescribe for "Community-Acquired Pneumonia: Initial Prescribing"

A free account opens the prescription pad: search the formulary, write the chart, and have it marked line by line by the safety engine.

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Educational content for students and clinicians in training. It does not replace professional judgement, local protocols or current prescribing information.