How many drops per minute should the nurse set for the infusion? The patient has been prescribed 1 liter of 0.9% sodium chloride, USP to be administered intravenously (IV) over a period of 4 hours. The IV administration set delivers 10 drops/mL. If rounding is required, round to the nearest whole number.

Step 1: Convert the volume from liters to milliliters. 1 liter = 1000 mL. Step 2: Convert the time from hours to minutes. 4 hours = 240 minutes. Step 3: Calculate the rate in mL per minute. Rate = Volume ÷ Time = 1000 mL ÷ 240 min = 4.17 mL/min. Step 4: Calculate the drops per minute. Drops per minute = Rate × Drop factor = 4.17 mL/min × 10 gtt/mL = 41.7 gtt/min. Step 5: Round off the result to the nearest whole number. 41.7 gtt/min rounds off to 42 gtt/min.