A prescription is written for 0.5% hydrocortisone ointment. How many milligrams of hydrocortisone should be added to 10g of hydrophilic ointment when compounding?

0.5 mg
5 mg
50 mg
250 mg

50 mg

Rationale: 0.5% is equivalent to 0.005 . Therefore, multiply: 10g x 0.005 = 0.05g or 50 mg, which is the amount of hydrocortisone that should be added to 10g of hydrophilic ointment.