Exam 1 ICU Cardiac, Respiratory, Neuro, Renal, Shock/Skills ( 55 Questions)
A 57-year-old male patient in DIC is to receive 1 unit of packed red blood cells over 2 hours. There is 250 mL in the infusion bag. The IV administration infusion set delivers 10 gtts/mL. At what flow rate (in drops per minute) should the nurse run the infusion?
Record your answer using a whole number.
Correct Answer: 20 drops per minute
To calculate the flow rate in drops per minute (gtts/min), we need to know the total number of drops required for the infusion and the time it takes to administer the infusion.
Given:
Volume of the infusion bag: 250 mL
The flow rate of the infusion set: 10 gtts/mL
Time for infusion: 2 hours
First, we need to calculate the total number of drops required for the infusion by multiplying the volume of the infusion bag by the flow rate:
Total drops = Volume of infusion bag (mL) × Flow rate (gtts/mL) Total drops = 250 mL × 10 gtts/mL Total drops = 2500 gtts
Next, we need to convert the infusion time from hours to minutes:
Time (minutes) = 2 hours × 60 minutes/hour Time (minutes) = 120 minutes
Finally, we can calculate the flow rate in drops per minute by dividing the total drops by the infusion time:
Flow rate (gtts/min) = Total drops / Time (minutes) Flow rate (gtts/min) = 2500 gtts / 120 minutes Flow rate (gtts/min) ≈ 20.83 gtts/min
Since we need to provide a whole number, we'll round the flow rate down to the nearest whole number:
Flow rate (gtts/min) ≈ 20 gtts/min
Therefore, the nurse should run the infusion at a flow rate of 20 drops per minute.
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