Question

The doctor orders a 250 mL bag of IV Normal Saline to infused at 20 gtt/min. The drip factor is 25gtt/mL. You start the IV infusion at 0900. At what time will the infusion be complete?

Answer 1

To calculate the completion time for a 250 mL IV Normal Saline infusion at 20 gtt/min with a drip factor of 25 gtt/mL, determine the total drops required and divide by the flow rate. With these calculations, the IV will finish at 2:12 PM.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question at hand involves calculating the completion time for an intravenous (IV) fluid infusion based on the ordered rate and the physical properties of the equipment used (drip factor). To determine when the 250 mL IV Normal Saline will be completely infused at a rate of 20 gtt/min with a drip factor of 25 gtt/mL, a mathematical calculation is required. First, you need to calculate the total number of drops that need to be infused by multiplying the volume of the IV solution by the drip factor:

250 mL x 25 gtt/mL = 6250 gtt

Next, determine the total time needed by dividing the total number of drops by the flow rate:

6250 gtt ÷ 20 gtt/min = 312.5 min

Since 312.5 min is equal to 5 hours and 12.5 minutes, the IV will complete at 14:12 (or 2:12 PM) if started at 0900. Therefore, the infusion will be complete at 2:12 PM.