The healthcare provider prescribes 2 L of 5% dextrose in water (D,W) IV to infuse in 24 hours. The IV administration set delivers 15 gtt/mL. How many gtt/min should the nurse regulate the infusion? (Enter numerical value only. If rounding is required, round to the nearest whole number.)

Here's how to calculate the infusion rate (gtt/min) for the nurse to regulate: 1. We know: Total volume of D5W solution: 2 L (liters) Infusion time: 24 hours IV administration set gtt/mL: 15 gtt/mL 2. We need to find the infusion rate in gtt/min. Steps: a. Convert liters to milliliters (mL) for better calculation: 1 liter = 1000 mL Total volume (mL) = 2 L * 1000 mL/L Total volume (mL) = 2000 mL b. Convert infusion time from hours to minutes: Infusion time (minutes) = Infusion time (hours) x Minutes per hour Infusion time (minutes) = 24 hours * 60 minutes/hour Infusion time (minutes) = 1440 minutes c. Calculate the total volume of solution to be infused per minute: Volume rate (mL/min) = Total volume (mL) / Infusion time (minutes) Volume rate (mL/min) = 2000 mL / 1440 minutes Volume rate (mL/min) = 1.389 mL/min (round to nearest hundredth) d. Finally, calculate the infusion rate in gtt/min: Infusion rate (gtt/min) = Volume rate (mL/min) x gtt/mL Infusion rate (gtt/min) = 1.389 mL/min * 15 gtt/mL Infusion rate (gtt/min) = 20.835 gtt/min (round to nearest whole number as requested) Therefore, the nurse should regulate the infusion at approximately 21 gtt/min