A nurse preparing to administer dextrose 5% in lactated Ringer's 2 L IV to infuse over 12 hr. The drop factor on the manual IV tubing is 20 gtt/mL. The nurse should set the IV flow rate to deliver how many gtt/min? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number. Use a leading zero it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)

Determine the flow rate in mL/hr: The client is to receive 2 L of dextrose 5% in lactated Ringer's IV. There are 1000 mL in 1 L, so 2 L = 2 x 1000 mL. The medication is to be administered over 12 hours. To find the flow rate in mL/hr, we can divide the total volume by the time: Flow rate (mL/hr) = Total volume (mL) / Time (hr) Flow rate = 2000 mL / 12 hr Calculating the flow rate: Flow rate = 166.67 mL/hr Calculate the flow rate in mL/min: There are 60 minutes in an hour. Flow rate in mL/min: 166.67 mL/hr ÷ 60 min/hr = 2.7778 mL/min. Calculate the drip rate in gtt/min: The drip factor of the tubing is 20 gtt/mL. This means that for every 1 mL, there are 20 drops. To find the drip rate in gtt/min: Drip rate (gtt/min) = Flow rate (mL/min) × Drip factor (gtt/mL) Drip rate = 2.7778 mL/min × 20 gtt/mL Calculating the drip rate: Drip rate = 55.56 gtt/min Round the answer to the nearest whole number: Rounding 55.56 to the nearest whole number gives us 56 gtt/min.