A patient is to receive 2000 mL over 8 hours. The drip factor is 60 gtt/mL. What is the flow rate in gtt/min?

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Multiple Choice

A patient is to receive 2000 mL over 8 hours. The drip factor is 60 gtt/mL. What is the flow rate in gtt/min?

Explanation:
The key idea is converting the infusion into a drip rate using the drip factor: Flow rate (gtt/min) = (volume in mL) × (drip factor in gtt/mL) ÷ (time in minutes). Here, 2000 mL over 8 hours equals 480 minutes. So the rate is 2000 × 60 / 480 = 120,000 / 480 = 250 gtt/min. Alternatively, 2000 mL / 8 hours = 250 mL/hour = 250 ÷ 60 ≈ 4.167 mL/min, and 4.167 mL/min × 60 gtt/mL ≈ 250 gtt/min. The flow rate is 250 gtt/min.

The key idea is converting the infusion into a drip rate using the drip factor: Flow rate (gtt/min) = (volume in mL) × (drip factor in gtt/mL) ÷ (time in minutes). Here, 2000 mL over 8 hours equals 480 minutes. So the rate is 2000 × 60 / 480 = 120,000 / 480 = 250 gtt/min.

Alternatively, 2000 mL / 8 hours = 250 mL/hour = 250 ÷ 60 ≈ 4.167 mL/min, and 4.167 mL/min × 60 gtt/mL ≈ 250 gtt/min. The flow rate is 250 gtt/min.

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