A nurse is preparing to administer dextrose 5% in 0.45% sodium chloride 500 mL IV to infuse over 4 hr. The drop factor of the manual IV tubing is 15 gtt/mL. The nurse should adjust the manual IV infusion to deliver how many gtt/min? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)

Calculation: Total volume to be infused = 500 mL. Convert the infusion time from hours to minutes. Infusion time = 4 hr × 60 min/hr = 240 min. Drop factor = 15 gtt/mL. Calculate the flow rate in drops per minute (gtt/min). Flow rate (gtt/min) = (Total volume (mL) × Drop factor (gtt/mL)) / Infusion time (min) = (500 mL × 15 gtt/mL) / 240 min = 7500 gtt / 240 min = 31.25 gtt/min. Rounded to the nearest whole number: = 31 gtt/min.