46.5k views
3 votes
dr. b. orders a liter of d5lr to infuse over 8 hours. the drop factor is 15 gtts/cc. what is the drip rate per minute?

User Snorpey
by
8.4k points

2 Answers

7 votes

Final answer:

To calculate the drip rate per minute, convert the infusion time to minutes, determine the total number of drops needed, and divide by the infusion time.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the drip rate per minute, we need to first convert the infusion time from hours to minutes. In this case, the infusion time is 8 hours, which is equivalent to 8 x 60 = 480 minutes. Next, we can determine the total number of drops needed for the liter of solution by multiplying the volume (1 liter) by the drop factor (15 gtts/cc). This gives us 1 x 15 = 15 drops. Finally, we can calculate the drip rate per minute by dividing the total number of drops (15 drops) by the infusion time (480 minutes). Therefore, the drip rate per minute is 15/480 = 0.03125 drops per minute.

User Wwerner
by
7.9k points
4 votes

Final answer:

To calculate the drip rate per minute for an IV infusion of 1000 mL D5LR over 8 hours with a drop factor of 15 gtts/mL, you divide the total volume by the time, multiply by the drop factor, and then divide by 60. The result is a drip rate of approximately 31 drops per minute.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking how to calculate the drip rate for an IV infusion. In this medical dosage calculation, one needs to know the total volume of fluid to be infused, the timeframe for the infusion, and the drop factor of the IV set being used. Given a liter (1000 mL) of D5LR to be infused over 8 hours with a drop factor of 15 gtts/mL, we calculate the drip rate in drops per minute.

To solve this, take the total volume to be infused, which is 1000 mL, and divide by the number of hours, 8, to get the rate per hour. Then multiply by the drop factor and divide by 60 to convert the rate to minutes:

  • Total volume (mL) / Time (hours) = Rate (mL/hour)
  • Rate (mL/hour) × Drop factor (gtts/mL) = Drip rate (gtts/hour)
  • Drip rate (gtts/hour) / 60 (min/hour) = Drip rate (gtts/min)

So the calculations are:

  • 1000 mL / 8 hours = 125 mL/hour
  • 125 mL/hour × 15 gtts/mL = 1875 gtts/hour
  • 1875 gtts/hour / 60 minutes/hour = 31.25 gtts/min

Therefore, the drip rate is approximately 31 drops per minute.

User Basel
by
7.5k points