A nurse is preparing to administer lactated Ringer’s 1000 ml to infuse over 12 hr. The drop factor on the manual tubing is 10 gtt/ml. The nurse should set the manual IV infusion 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 rate at which the nurse should set the manual IV infusion, we need to calculate the drip rate in drops per minute (gtt/min). Here’s the step-by-step process:
Calculation:
- Determine the total volume of the infusion:
The total volume is 1000 ml. - Determine the total infusion time:
The infusion time is 12 hours. - Convert the infusion time to minutes:
[
\text{Total time (in minutes)} = 12 \text{ hours} \times 60 \text{ minutes/hour} = 720 \text{ minutes}
] - Calculate the drip rate (gtt/min):
The drip rate formula is:
[
\text{Drip rate (gtt/min)} = \frac{\text{Total volume (ml)} \times \text{Drop factor (gtt/ml)}}{\text{Total time (minutes)}}
]
Substitute the values:
[
\text{Drip rate} = \frac{1000 \text{ ml} \times 10 \text{ gtt/ml}}{720 \text{ minutes}}
]
Simplify:
[
\text{Drip rate} = \frac{10000 \text{ gtt}}{720 \text{ minutes}} \approx 13.89 \text{ gtt/min}
] - Round to the nearest whole number:
[
\text{Drip rate} \approx 14 \text{ gtt/min}
]
Explanation:
In this problem, the nurse needs to administer 1000 ml of Lactated Ringer’s solution over a period of 12 hours. The drop factor of the manual IV tubing is 10 gtt/ml, which means each milliliter of solution corresponds to 10 drops.
To ensure the solution is delivered over the specified time, the nurse calculates the drip rate by dividing the total number of drops (volume in ml multiplied by the drop factor) by the total infusion time in minutes. This approach ensures that the infusion rate is precise and maintains the prescribed flow rate throughout the duration of the infusion.
By rounding the result to the nearest whole number, the nurse will set the IV infusion rate to approximately 14 gtt/min, ensuring the proper administration rate is maintained.