A client receives a prescription for 1 liter of lactated Ringer's IV to be infused over 12 hours. The IV administration set delivers 60 gtt/mL. How many gtt/min should the nurse regulate the infusion? (Enter numerical value only. If rounding is required, round to the nearest whole number.)
Explanation & Rationale
Total volume to be infused = 1 litre Convert the total volume from liters to milliliters: Total volume (mL) = Total volume (liters) x 1000 mL/litre = 1 litre x 1000 mL/litre = 1000 mL Identify the infusion time in minutes: Infusion time (minutes) = Infusion time (hours) x 60 minutes/hour = 12 hours x 60 minutes/hour = 720 minutes Drop factor of the IV administration set = 60 gtt/mL Calculate the total number of drops to be infused: Total drops = Total volume (mL) x Drop factor (gtt/mL) = 1000 mL x 60 gtt/mL = 60000 gtt Calculate the infusion rate in drops per minute (gtt/min): Infusion rate (gtt/min) = Total drops / Infusion time (minutes) = 60000 gtt / 720 minutes ≈ 83.33 gtt/minute Round to the nearest whole number: Rounded infusion rate = 83 gtt/minute