Question

scenario
on the second day of hospitalization, mrs. turner’s orders call for 500 mg of azithromycin to be delivered in a 250 ml iv solution over 3 hours. the dose will be delivered using iv tubing with a drop factor of 10 (10 gtt (drops) = 1 ml).
question
what is the appropriate rate of flow for the iv in drops per minute?
round your answer to the nearest whole number.

Explanation:

Step1: Convert hours to minutes

The time is 3 hours. Since 1 hour = 60 minutes, we convert 3 hours to minutes: $3\times60 = 180$ minutes.

Step2: Calculate total drops

The volume is 250 mL and the drop factor is 10 gtt/mL. So total drops = volume × drop factor = $250\times10 = 2500$ gtt.

Step3: Calculate flow rate in drops per minute

Flow rate (drops per minute) = total drops / total minutes = $\frac{2500}{180}\approx13.89$

Step4: Round to nearest whole number

Rounding 13.89 to the nearest whole number gives 14.

Answer:

14