Question

A patient gets 2.1 L of fluid over 19 hours through an IV. The drop factor is 20 gtt/mL.Calculate the drip rate in drops per minute (gtt/min)

Answer 1

The rate of infusion is 2.1L/19h or 2100mL/19h (as 1L = 100 mL).
       
To convert 19 hours to minutes we multiply as follows:
   
19 hours = (19 hours) x (60 minutes/1 hour) = 1140 minutes
       
So the rate of infusion becomes:
   
2100mL /1140 min
       
In order to converted mL to drops (gtt) we multiply the rate of infusion with the drop factor to get the drip rate:
       
(2100mL/1140min) x (20 gtt/mL) = 36.8 gtt/min