A patient is receiving a secondary infusion of azithromycin 500 mg in 500 mL of normal saline (NS) to be infused over 2 hours. The intravenous (IV) administration set delivers 10 gtt/mL. How many gtt/min should the nurse regulate the infusion?

To calculate the infusion rate in gtt/min, we first need to calculate the infusion rate in mL/hr. The formula for this is: Step 1: Calculate the infusion rate in mL/hr Infusion rate (mL/hr)=Total time (hr)Total volume (mL) Substituting the given values: Infusion rate (mL/hr)=2 hr mL=250 mL/hr Step 2: Convert the infusion rate from mL/hr to gtt/min Infusion rate (gtt/min)=60 min/hrInfusion rate (mL/hr)×Drop factor (gtt/mL). Substituting the given values: Infusion rate (gtt/min)=60 min/hr mL/hr×10 gtt/mL ≈42 gtt/min Therefore, the nurse should regulate the infusion to approximately 42 gtt/min.