What is the calculated drip rate for administering 1000 mL of D51/2NS over 8 hours using macrodrip tubing 10 gtt/mL?

To determine the correct drip rate for administering 1000 mL of D5 1/2 NS over 8 hours using macrodrip tubing with a drip factor of 10 gtt/mL, you first need to convert the total volume and time into consistent units.

Start by converting hours into minutes since drip rates are usually calculated in drops per minute. Eight hours is equivalent to 480 minutes (8 hours x 60 minutes/hour).

Next, calculate the total drip rate by dividing the total volume by the time in minutes:

• Total volume = 1000 mL

• Time = 480 minutes

Now, you can find the drip rate using the formula:

Drip rate (gtt/min) = (Total volume (mL) / Time (min)) × Drip factor (gtt/mL)

Plugging in the numbers:

Drip rate = (1000 mL / 480 min) × 10 gtt/mL

This simplifies to:

Drip rate = (1000 / 480) × 10

Calculating the values gives:

Drip rate = 2.0833 × 10 = 20.83 gtt/min

Rounding this value gives approximately 21