FIELD O 

 Column 49 



(1) DOSAGE FREQUENCY 



(2) SEQUENCE OF ADMINISTRATION OF 



THE SECONDARY COMPOUND 

 AND THE TEST COMPOUND 



Organization 



The frequency-of-dosage items of Field O have been limited to nine to which have been assigned 

 only numerical symbols. This has permitted the remaining IBM punches (the three zone punches, 0, 11, 

 and 12) to be used for a coding purpose distinct from frequency of dosage, namely, indicating the 

 sequence of test compound and secondary compound administration. 



General Use 



Fields M, N, O, and P can be considered as a unit in that, together, they express the total 

 amount of test compound administered during the test. (In Fields M and N are coded the size of the 

 individual doses, in Field O is expressed the frequency at which the doses are given, and in Field P 

 is indicated the period over which the doses are given at the frequency expressed in Field O. ) The 

 three fields are provided for dosage, rather than a single field, because any of the experimental factors, 

 individual dose size, frequency of administration, and duration of administration, even though their 

 significance may be minor in certain tests, are critical factors in many tests. 



Besides its use for indicating the test compound dosage frequency, Field O is used for indicating 

 the sequence of administration of test compound and secondary compound, when a secondary compound 

 is involved. (See Divisions 7 and 8, below, and Division 3 of Specific Directions and Explanations for 

 Field P, relative to this use of Field O. ) 



Thus, two types of information are coded in the same field (in a single column) and they may be 

 both coded in the same line and both punched on the same IBM card. This double use of a single field, 

 by which either or both of two entries may appear in the same IBM column, is distinct from "double 

 coding". The latter expression, double coding, refers to the entry of two values of the same type of 

 information- -for example, two dosage frequencies, two test compound- secondary compound frequencies, 

 or (in Field N) two dose ranges. 



Specific Directions and Explanations 



1. Suggested time ranges to be used in coding dosage frequencies 



Some explanation is appropriate for the frequency-of-dosage definitions for Symbols 1 through 9. 

 As with other quantitative values (in Fields M, N, P, U, and V), the definitions must be interpreted as 

 encompassing ranges of time intervals, even though each is expressed in rather precise terms. For 

 example, although "three times daily", if accomplished by exact timing of intervals, would imply an 

 administration every eight hours, other routines aru possible for a three-times-daily administration 

 (e.g., daily at 7:00 a. m. , 2:00 p.m., and 9:00 p.m., which would be a 7-7- 10-hour series, or daily 

 at 9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m., a 4-4- 16-hour series). Thus, within a 24-hour period, 

 intervals may vary, rather than be precisely equal, for a "three- times-daily" administration schedule 

 or for a "twice daily" schedule. In addition, the intervals may be such that the schedule doesn't fit 

 precisely the definition for the terms "hourly" or "daily". For example, administration every 9 hours 

 would mean administration of only two doses within a 24-hour period, yet the intervals are actually 

 more nearly three times daily than twice daily. Similarly, administration every 3 hours is more nearly 

 hourly than three times daily. The following scale is provided as an aid in determining which symbol 

 to use when an administration schedule does not fit precisely the definitions of the code. 



95 



