Question

A postoperative patient is transferred from the postanesthesia unit to the medical-surgical nursing floor. The nurse notes that the patient has an order for D5 ½NS to infuse at 125 mL/hr. Until an IV pump is available, the nurse regulates the IV at what flow rate in drops (gtt)/min, noting that the tubing has a drop factor of 10 drops/mL? ________ gtt/min.

a) 12.5
b) 25
c) 50
d) 62.5

Answer 1

To calculate the flow rate in drops per minute for an IV without a pump, use the formula: (Flow rate in mL/hr) × (Drop factor in gtt/mL) / 60. For 125 mL/hr and a drop factor of 10 gtt/mL, it is 21 gtt/min, which doesn't match the provided answer options.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse must a

djust the IV to the correct number of drops per minute (gtt/min) by using the formula: Flow rate (mL/hr) × Drop factor (gtt/mL) / 60 (min/hr) = Flow rate in gtt/min. With the order for D5 ½NS to infuse at 125 mL/hr and a drop factor of 10 drops/mL, the flow rate without the IV pump is calculated as follows: 125 mL/hr × 10 gtt/mL / 60 min/hr = approximately 20.8 gtt/min.

Since the options are in whole numbers, we would round this to the nearest whole number, hence the correct flow rate in drops per minute is 21 gtt/min, which is not explicitly listed in one of the answer choices (a) 12.5 (b) 25 (c) 50 (d) 62.5. It appears there may be an error in the provided options, as none match the calculated flow rate.