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.)

Identify the total volume, infusion time, and drop factor Total Volume: 500 mL Infusion Time: 4 hours = 4 × 60 = 240 minutes Drop Factor: 15 gtt/mL Calculate the flow rate in gtt/min Flow Rate (gtt/min) = (Total Volume × Drop Factor) ÷ Time Flow Rate = (500 × 15) ÷ 240 Flow Rate = 7500 ÷ 240 Flow Rate ≈ 31.25 gtt/min Round to the nearest whole number = 31 gtt/min