Question

A patient gets 2.1 L of fluid over 19 hours through an IV. The drop factor is 20 gtt/mL.Calculate the drip rate in drops per minute (gtt/min)

Answer 1

To calculate the drip rate in drops per minute (gtt/min), convert the volume and duration to the same units as the drop factor, and then use the formula (volume / duration) * drop factor.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the drip rate in drops per minute (gtt/min), we need to convert the volume of fluid (2.1 L) and the duration (19 hours) to the same units as the drop factor (20 gtt/mL).

First, let's convert the volume from liters to milliliters:

2.1 L * 1000 mL/L = 2100 mL.

Next, let's convert the duration from hours to minutes:

19 hours * 60 minutes/hour = 1140 minutes.

Now we can calculate the drip rate:

(2100 mL / 1140 minutes) * 20 gtt/mL = 38.947 gtt/min.

Answer 2

The rate of infusion is 2.1L/19h or 2100mL/19h (as 1L = 100 mL).

To convert 19 hours to minutes we multiply as follows:

19 hours = (19 hours) x (60 minutes/1 hour) = 1140 minutes

So the rate of infusion becomes:

2100mL /1140 min

In order to converted mL to drops (gtt) we multiply the rate of infusion with the drop factor to get the drip rate:

(2100mL/1140min) x (20 gtt/mL) = 36.8 gtt/min