MANUAL IV INFUSIONS

If an electronic infusion pump is not available, regulate the IV flow rate using the roller clamp on the IV tubing. When setting the flow rate, count the number of drops that fall into the drip chamber over 1 min. Then calculate the flow rate using the drop factor on the manufacturer’s package containing the administration set. The drop factor is the number of drops per milliliter of solution.

Example: A nurse is preparing to administer lactated Ringer’s (LR) 1,500 mL IV to infuse over 10 hr. The drop factor of the manual IV tubing is 15 gtt/mL. The nurse should adjust the manual IV infusion to deliver how many gtt/min? (Round the answer to the nearest whole number. Use a leading zero if it applies. Do not use a trailing zero.)