Question

Medical control orders an infusion of 1 L of normal saline over 4 hours during a long-distance transport. You have a 1,000-mL bag of normal saline and a macrodrip administration set that allows 10 gtts/mL. At how many gtts/min will you set the IV flow rate?

Answer 1

Answer:

This is the formula to calculate the drops per minute (gtt/min )

(Volume (mL) x (gtt/set)) / Time (min) = gtt/ min

The time which is 4hrs is converted to minutes= 4hrs * 60 minutes = 240 minutes

The volume in mL is 1,000 , the drip set( gtt/set= 10 .

Substitute the parameters into the formula and solve for gtt / min

1,000* 10 / 240 = 10,000/240

= 41.67 = 42 gtt/min