The physician ordered 500 mL of D5W to infuse over 8 hours with a drop factor of 20 gtt/mL. Calculate the correct IV flow rate in drops per minute. Round off to the nearest whole number.
A) 15
B) 18
C) 21
D) 25

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Use this formula: Number of milliliters to infuse F1F1F1S1?F1F1F10 DF/Number of minutes to infuse = Drops per minute or gtt/minute. Therefore, 500 mL F1F1F1S1?F1F1F10 20 gtt/mL ÷ 480 minutes (8 hours F1F1F1S1?F1F1F10 60 minutes) = 10,000/480 = 20.8 gtt/minute. Round off to the nearest whole number: 21 gtt/minute.

The Physician Ordered 500 ML of D5W to Infuse Over