A nurse is preparing to administer lactated Ringer’s IV to infuse at 60 mL/hr. The drop factor on the manual IV tubing is 60 gtt/mL. The nurse should set the IV flow rate to deliver how many gtt/min? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)
The correct answer and Explanation is :
To determine the IV flow rate in drops per minute (gtt/min), follow these steps:
- Calculate the total drops per hour:
- The IV infusion rate is 60 mL/hr.
- The drop factor of the IV tubing is 60 gtt/mL.
- Therefore, the total number of drops delivered per hour can be calculated by multiplying the infusion rate by the drop factor:
[
\text{Total drops per hour} = \text{Infusion rate (mL/hr)} \times \text{Drop factor (gtt/mL)}
]
[
\text{Total drops per hour} = 60 \text{ mL/hr} \times 60 \text{ gtt/mL} = 3600 \text{ gtt/hr}
]
- Convert drops per hour to drops per minute:
- There are 60 minutes in an hour, so divide the total drops per hour by 60 to find the flow rate in drops per minute:
[
\text{Drops per minute} = \frac{\text{Total drops per hour}}{60}
]
[
\text{Drops per minute} = \frac{3600 \text{ gtt/hr}}{60} = 60 \text{ gtt/min}
]
Thus, the nurse should set the IV flow rate to deliver 60 gtt/min.
Explanation:
The IV flow rate calculation involves two key factors: the infusion rate (mL/hr) and the drop factor of the IV tubing (gtt/mL). The drop factor is crucial as it tells you how many drops make up 1 mL of solution.
By multiplying the infusion rate by the drop factor, you get the total number of drops delivered in one hour. To convert this to a per-minute rate, divide by 60, the number of minutes in an hour. This method ensures accurate delivery of the prescribed fluid volume over time, which is essential for maintaining patient safety and achieving therapeutic goals.
In this case, with an infusion rate of 60 mL/hr and a drop factor of 60 gtt/mL, the calculation shows that the flow rate needs to be set at 60 drops per minute to achieve the desired infusion rate. This precision is important in clinical settings to ensure that the patient receives the correct volume of fluids at the right rate.