Difficulty: Medium
Average Score: 74%
Simulated
Passage / Scenario
Client who is postoperative following an appendectomy and is prescribed lactated Ringer's at 150 mL/hr by continuous IV infusion for 12 hr. The drop factor of the manual IV tubing is 20 gtt/mL.A nurse is caring for a client who is postoperative following an appendectomy and is prescribed lactated Ringer's at 150 mL/hr by continuous IV infusion for 12 hr. The drop factor of the manual IV tubing is 20 gtt/mL. The nurse should set the manual IV infusion to deliver how many gtt/min?
Correct answer
50
Rationale
The correct answer is 50 gtt/min. To calculate the IV infusion rate in drops per minute, we use the formula: (Volume to be infused in mL x drop factor) / time in minutes. In this case, the volume to be infused is 150 mL, drop factor is 20 gtt/mL, and time is 60 minutes in an hour. So, (150 mL x 20 gtt/mL) / 60 min = 50 gtt/min. This calculation ensures the correct rate of lactated Ringer's is delivered to the client. Other choices are incorrect because they do not follow the correct calculation based on the given information.