If you are administering 500 ml of a solution over 4 hours with a drop factor of 15 gtts/ml, what is the flow rate in gtts/min?

To determine the flow rate in drops per minute (gtts/min), we first need to calculate the total volume to be infused and the total time over which this infusion occurs. In this scenario, you're administering 500 mL over a span of 4 hours.

1. Convert hours to minutes: Since there are 60 minutes in an hour, 4 hours is equal to 4 hours × 60 minutes/hour = 240 minutes.

2. Calculate the total number of drops for the entire volume of fluid: Since the drop factor is given as 15 gtts/mL, you can calculate the total number of drops in 500 mL:

[

\text{Total drops} = 500 , \text{mL} \times 15 , \text{gtts/mL} = 7500 , \text{gtts}

]

3. Determine the flow rate in gtts/min: To find the flow rate, divide the total number of drops by the total time in minutes:

[

\text{Flow rate} = \frac{7500 , \text{gtts}}{240 , \text{minutes