Questions: The physician orders gentamicin 40 mg IVPB q 8 h for infection. The medication is supplied in gentamicin 40 mg / 100 mL to infuse over 1 hour. Tubing drop factor is 20 gtt / mL. How many drops per minute will be given? Round answer to whole number.

Solution Steps

To determine the number of drops per minute, we need to follow these steps:

1. Calculate the total volume of the infusion (which is given as 100 mL).
2. Determine the total time of the infusion in minutes (1 hour = 60 minutes).
3. Use the tubing drop factor to convert the volume per minute into drops per minute.

The total volume of the infusion is given as \(100 \, \text{mL}\).

The infusion time is given as 1 hour. Converting this to minutes: \[ 1 \, \text{hour} = 60 \, \text{minutes} \]

Using the tubing drop factor of \(20 \, \text{gtt/mL}\), we calculate the drops per minute: \[ \text{Drops per minute} = \left( \frac{100 \, \text{mL}}{60 \, \text{minutes}} \right) \times 20 \, \text{gtt/mL} \] \[ \text{Drops per minute} = \left( \frac{100}{60} \right) \times 20 \] \[ \text{Drops per minute} = 1.6667 \times 20 \] \[ \text{Drops per minute} = 33.3333 \]

Rounding \(33.3333\) to the nearest whole number: \[ \text{Drops per minute} \approx 33 \]

Final Answer