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A nurse is preparing to administer 0.9% NaCl 750 mL IV to infuse over 4 hours. The drop factor of the manual IV tubing is 10 gtt/mL. What is the flow rate in gtt/min? (Round to the nearest whole number & fill in the blank with the numerical value only).
Answer and Explanation

The Correct Answer is ["31"]

Total volume to be infused = 750 mL

Total infusion time = 4 hours

Convert hours to minutes: 4 hours × 60 minutes/hour = 240 minutes

Drop factor = 10 gtt/mL

  • Calculate the total number of drops needed:

Total drops (gtt) = Total volume (mL) × Drop factor (gtt/mL)

= 750 mL × 10 gtt/mL

= 7500 gtt

  • Calculate the flow rate in drops per minute (gtt/min):

Flow rate (gtt/min) = Total drops (gtt) / Total infusion time (minutes)

                             = 7500 gtt / 240 minutes

     = 31.25 gtt/min

  • Round to the nearest whole number:

Rounding 31.25 to the nearest whole number gives 31.

= 31 gtt/min.


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Related Questions

Correct Answer is ["10"]

Explanation

Desired dose = 20 mg

Available concentration = 10 mg per 5 mL

  • Calculate the concentration in mg/mL:

Concentration (mg/mL) = Available dose / Available volume

= 10 mg / 5 mL

= 2 mg/mL

Volume to administer = Desired dose / Available concentration

= 20 mg / 2 mg/mL

= 10 mL

Correct Answer is ["4"]

Explanation

Desired dose rate = 15 mcg/min

  • Convert the desired dose rate to mg/hr:

1000 mcg = 1 mg and 60 minutes = 1 hour.

Desired dose rate (mg/hr) = 15 mcg/min × (1 mg / 1000 mcg) × (60 min / 1 hr)

= (15 × 60) / 1000 mg/hr

= 900 / 1000 mg/hr

= 0.9 mg/hr

Available concentration = 25 mg / 100 mL

  • Calculate the flow rate in mL/hr:

Flow rate (mL/hr) = Desired dose rate (mg/hr) / Concentration (mg/mL)

= 0.9 mg/hr / (25 mg / 100 mL)

= 0.9 mg/hr / 0.25 mg/mL

= 0.9 / 0.25 mL/hr

= 3.6 mL/hr

Round to the nearest whole number:

= 4 mL/hr

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