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).

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.