Mr. X is to be administered with 200 ml or normal saline per hour using adult infusion set. How much should be the drop rate? (1ml = 20 drops)

1. A

   67

2. B

   70

3. C

   73

4. D

   75

Appeared in: Haryana CHO - 2022

Explanation

• determined by using the standard formula for calculating IV drip rates.
• The formula is: Drip Rate (drops/min) = (Total Volume in mL × Drop Factor in gtt/mL) / Time in minutes.
• Plugging in the given values: (200 mL × 20 gtt/mL) / 60 minutes.
• This calculation results in 4000 / 60 = 66.66... drops per minute.
• Rounding to the nearest whole number gives 67 drops/minute, as it's impossible to administer a fraction of a drop.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

• Option B: This is an incorrect calculation. It may result from miscalculation or rounding errors.
• Option C: This is an incorrect calculation. It does not match the result from the standard formula.
• Option D: This is an incorrect calculation. It might be chosen if the calculation is performed incorrectly.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

• Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain IV Drip Rate Calculation as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
• Accurate calculation of IV flow rates is a critical nursing skill to ensure patient safety. Incorrect rates can lead to fluid overload or inadequate fluid/medication delivery.
• Nurses must double-check their calculations, especially for critical medications, and be familiar with the drop factors of different IV administration sets (macrodrip vs. microdrip).
• What if? If the infusion set was a microdrip set (60 gtt/mL), the calculation would be (200 mL × 60 gtt/mL) / 60 min = 200 drops/min. This shows how the drop factor significantly changes the final rate.

How to Approach the Question

• First, identify that this is a drug calculation question requiring a specific formula.
• Extract all the necessary values from the problem: Total Volume (200 mL), Time (1 hour), and Drop Factor (20 drops/mL).
• Convert the time unit to match the formula's requirement. The rate is in drops per minute, so convert the time from hours to minutes (1 hour = 60 minutes).
• Recall or look up the standard formula for IV drip rate: Flow Rate = (Total Volume × Drop Factor) / Time in minutes.
• Substitute the extracted values into the formula: (200 × 20) / 60.
• Perform the calculation and round the result to the nearest whole number, as drops are discrete units. Match the final answer to the provided options.

Concept Tested & Keywords

• Concept Tested: IV Drip Rate Calculation
• Stem keywords: 200 ml, normal saline, per hour, adult infusion set, drop rate, 1ml = 20 drops
• Lead-in keywords: How much
• Negative lead-in flag: false

Question ID

QrNAMjP1vhPqY5_L2hnos0

Copy ID

Reference Book

E6 Pharmacology Nurses Shanbhag 3e p. 54-56

E6 Nursing Fundamentals Potter Perry 12e Part 5 p. 93-95