A nurse is preparing to administer 0/9% sodium chloride (0.9% NaCl) 20ml/kg IV tp infuse over 6 hr to a school-age child who weighs 55 lbs. The nurse should set the IV pump to deliver how many ml/hr? (Round to the nearest whole number. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)

Given:

Volume of fluid: 1 liter = 1000 mL

Infusion time: 6 hours

Drop factor: 10 gtt/mL

Formula:

Flow rate (gtt/min) = (Volume (mL) / Time (hr)) x Drop factor (gtt/mL) / 60 min/hr

Step 1: Calculate the infusion rate in mL/hr:

Infusion rate (mL/hr) = Volume (mL) / Time (hr)

Infusion rate (mL/hr) = 1000 mL / 6 hr

Infusion rate (mL/hr) = 166.67 mL/hr

Step 2: Calculate the flow rate in gtt/min:

Flow rate (gtt/min) = (Infusion rate (mL/hr) x Drop factor (gtt/mL)) / 60 min/hr

Flow rate (gtt/min) = (166.67 mL/hr x 10 gtt/mL) / 60 min/hr

Flow rate (gtt/min) = 1666.7 gtt/hr / 60 min/hr

Flow rate (gtt/min) = 27.78 gtt/min

Step 3: Round to the nearest whole number:

Flow rate (gtt/min) ≈ 28 gtt/min

A) Antibiotics
Antibiotics are medications used to treat infections by killing or inhibiting the growth of bacteria. They do not have any direct effect on clot formation. Antibiotics work by targeting specific parts of bacterial cells, such as cell walls, proteins, or DNA, but they do not interfere with the blood coagulation system. Therefore, antibiotics are not a drug group that inhibits clot formation.

B) Analgesics
Analgesics are pain-relieving medications used to reduce pain, and they include both non-opioid (e.g., acetaminophen, NSAIDs) and opioid medications (e.g., morphine, oxycodone). While some analgesics, particularly nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), can affect platelet function and may slightly influence clotting, their primary function is to relieve pain.

C) Antidepressants
Antidepressants are medications used to treat mood disorders, including depression, anxiety, and other psychiatric conditions. These drugs work by altering the balance of neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin, norepinephrine, or dopamine. Antidepressants do not directly affect blood clotting mechanisms, although some classes, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can have mild anticoagulant effects due to their impact on platelet aggregation.

D) Anticoagulants
Anticoagulants inhibit the coagulation cascade, a series of complex biochemical reactions that lead to the formation of a blood clot. Common examples of anticoagulants include warfarin, heparin, and the newer direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) such as rivaroxaban and apixaban. Anticoagulants are primarily used to reduce the risk of clot formation in conditions such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and atrial fibrillation (AF), and they are essential in managing and preventing clot-related complications.