A nurse is preparing to administer lactated Ringer’s 700 mL IV infused over 24 hours to a pediatric client. The drop factor of the manual IV tubing is 60 gtts/mL. The nurse should set the IV infusion to deliver how many gtts/min
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
To calculate the number of drops per minute (gtts/min) for the IV infusion, use the following formula:gtts/min=(Volume (mL)×Drop factor (gtts/mL)Time (min))\text{gtts/min} = \left(\frac{\text{Volume (mL)} \times \text{Drop factor (gtts/mL)}}{\text{Time (min)}}\right)gtts/min=(Time (min)Volume (mL)×Drop factor (gtts/mL))
Step-by-step calculation:
- Volume to be infused: 700 mL
- Drop factor: 60 gtts/mL
- Time: 24 hours = 24 × 60 = 1440 minutes
gtts/min=(700×601440)=420001440≈29.17\text{gtts/min} = \left(\frac{700 \times 60}{1440}\right) = \frac{42000}{1440} \approx 29.17gtts/min=(1440700×60)=144042000≈29.17
Answer: 29 gtts/min
Since you cannot administer a fraction of a drop, always round to the nearest whole number when setting a manual IV.
Explanation
When administering IV fluids manually using gravity and a drip chamber, nurses must calculate the correct flow rate to ensure the patient receives the appropriate amount of fluid over the prescribed time. This is especially important in pediatric patients, where both under-infusion and over-infusion can have serious consequences due to their smaller blood volume and body weight.
The drop factor is the number of drops (gtts) in 1 milliliter of fluid and is specific to the type of IV tubing used. In this case, the drop factor is 60 gtts/mL, which is typical for microdrip tubing. This type of tubing allows for very precise control of fluid delivery and is often used in pediatric settings.
The nurse is instructed to administer 700 mL of lactated Ringer’s over a period of 24 hours. To determine the infusion rate in drops per minute, the total volume (in mL) is multiplied by the drop factor, then divided by the total number of minutes in 24 hours, which is 1440. This calculation results in approximately 29.17 drops per minute.
Because it is not possible to measure a fraction of a drop accurately, the nurse should round to the nearest whole number. In this case, the infusion should be set to deliver 29 gtts/min.
Setting the IV flow rate accurately is critical to patient safety. Administering fluids too quickly can lead to fluid overload, while administering them too slowly may result in inadequate hydration or treatment delays. Therefore, careful calculation and monitoring are essential nursing responsibilities.
