Please Help me with this nurse's math question.?

Question

An IV fluid is prescribed for a patient (2000 milliliters to be given over 8 hours at the drop rate of 15 drops/milliliter).

How many drops per minute will you give over 30 minutes?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Formula: (Volume_mL / Time_min) * Drop_Factor = gtts/min

From: http://www.dosagehelp.com/iv_rate_drop.h...

Convert 8 hrs to minutes:

8 hr * 60 = 480 minutes

Plug into formula:

(2000 / 480) * 15 = 62.5 gtts/min

Now that's the drop rate per minute.  Mulitply by 30 to determine how many drops we have given in 30 minutes.

62.5 * 30 = 1,875 drops

Answer 2

Let's think this through logically.

Multiply 8 hours by 60 minutes/hr to get 480 minutes.

Multiply 15 drops/ml by 2000 ml to get 30,000 drops.

So, 30,000 drops divided by 480 minutes is 62.5 drops/minute.

Mulitply 62.5 drops/min by 30 min to get 1875 drops.