Question

A postoperative client has a prescription to receive an intravenous (IV) infusion of 1000 mL normal saline solution over a period of 10 hours. The drop (gtt) factor for the IV infusion set is 15 gtt/mL. The nurse sets the flow rate at how many drops per minute?

a) 10 drops per minute
b) 12 drops per minute
c) 15 drops per minute
d) 25 drops per minute

Answer 1

To calculate the IV infusion flow rate, use the formula: Flow rate (gtt/min) = (Total volume in mL × Drop factor in gtt/mL) / Total time in minutes. The nurse should set the flow rate at 25 drops per minute given the prescribed 1000 mL over 10 hours with a drop factor of 15 gtt/mL.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking how to calculate the flow rate of an intravenous (IV) infusion. To determine the flow rate of an IV drip, the total volume to be infused (1000 mL), the time over which it should be administered (10 hours), and the drop factor of the IV set (15 gtt/mL) must be used. The formula to calculate the flow rate in drops per minute (gtt/min) is:

Flow rate (gtt/min) = (Total volume in mL × Drop factor in gtt/mL) / Total time in minutes

Converting hours to minutes for the calculation, we have:

10 hours × 60 minutes/hour = 600 minutes

Using the formula:

Flow rate (gtt/min) = (1000 mL × 15 gtt/mL) / 600 minutes

This simplifies to:

Flow rate (gtt/min) = 15000 gtt / 600 minutes

Flow rate (gtt/min) = 25 drops per minute

Therefore, the nurse must set the flow rate at 25 drops per minute, answering the student’s question with option d).