A nurse is preparing to administer dextrose 5% in water (DW) 150 mL IV to infuse over 3 hr. The drop factor of the manual IV tubing is 10 gtt. The nurse should set the manual IV infusion to deliver how many gtt/min? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number. Do not use a trailing zero.)
To calculate the IV flow rate in gtt/min, use the following formula:
Flow rate (gtt/min)=Volume (mL)×Drop factor (gtt/mL)Time (min)\text{Flow rate (gtt/min)} = \frac{\text{Volume (mL)} \times \text{Drop factor (gtt/mL)}}{\text{Time (min)}}Flow rate (gtt/min)=Time (min)Volume (mL)×Drop factor (gtt/mL)
Here’s the step-by-step process:
- Volume to Infuse: 150 mL
- Drop Factor: 10 gtt/mL
- Time: 3 hours, which is 180 minutes (since 3 hours × 60 minutes/hour = 180 minutes)
Plug these values into the formula:
Flow rate (gtt/min)=150 mL×10 gtt/mL180 min\text{Flow rate (gtt/min)} = \frac{150 \text{ mL} \times 10 \text{ gtt/mL}}{180 \text{ min}}Flow rate (gtt/min)=180 min150 mL×10 gtt/mL
Calculate:
Flow rate (gtt/min)=1500 gtt180 min≈8.33 gtt/min\text{Flow rate (gtt/min)} = \frac{1500 \text{ gtt}}{180 \text{ min}} \approx 8.33 \text{ gtt/min}Flow rate (gtt/min)=180 min1500 gtt≈8.33 gtt/min
Rounded to the nearest whole number:
8 gtt/min
So, the nurse should set the manual IV infusion to deliver 8 gtt/min.