mmol/L to mg/dl Conversion

There is actually a very easy way to do the conversion.

The molecular formula for Glucose is C6H12O6. Of course everyone knows the periodic table, and the atomic mass for each element in a glucose molecule.

carbon - 12.011 (x 6)
hydrogen - 1.008 (x 12)
oxygen - 15.999 (x 6)

image

So it is very easy to see that glucose (C6H12O6) has a molecular weight of 180.156

Converting moles to grams then becomes just as elementary as converting millimoles to moles, grams to milligrams, and liters to deciliters.

First convert millimoles to moles by dividing by 1000. Then convert moles to grams using the molecular weight. Next, convert grams to milligrams by multiplying by 1000. And finally convert the liters to deciliters.

(millimol / liter) x (1 mol / 1000 millimol) x (180.156 grams / 1 mol) x (1000 milligrams / gram) x (1 liter / 10 deciliters) = milligrams / deciliter

So for example, for 7 mmol/L, the conversion is:

( 7 millimol / liter) x (1 mol / 1000 millimol) x (180.156 grams / 1 mol) x (1000 milligrams / gram) x (1 liter / 10 deciliters) = 126.1092 milligrams / deciliter

Super easy. Much simpler than all that confusing multiply by 9 and then 2 stuff, or dividing by 10 and then 2 and adding something.

Come on people, let’s keep things simple here, okay?

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