Chapter 6, Calculation of Basic IV Drip Rates

Format:  Multiple Choice

Chapter:  6

Client Needs:  Physiological Integrity: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies

Cognitive Level:  Apply

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  216, Types of IV Fluids

Integrated Process:  Communication and Documentation

Objective:  1

1. The physician ordered a patient/client to receive 1000 mL D5NS to infuse over 24 hours. Which solution should the nurse obtain from the supply cart?

A) D5%W

B) D5% 0.9 NS

C) D5% 0.45 NS

D) 0.9% NS

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  218, Kinds of IV Drip Factors

Integrated Process:  Communication and Documentation

Objective:  2

2. The faculty member tells the nursing student to obtain an IV microdrip tubing set. What is the drop factor on an IV microdrip?

A) 10 gtt/mL

B) 15 gtt/mL

C) 20 gtt/mL

D) 60 gtt/mL

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  214, Infusion Pumps

Integrated Process:  Communication and Documentation

Objective:  4

3. The physician has ordered 1000 mL D5W, IV to run at 75 mL/hour. What is the correct volume for infusion and rate for infusion on the infusion pump?

A) Rate for infusion: 1000 mL; Volume for infusion: 75 mL

B) Rate for infusion: 75 mL; Volume for infusion: 1000 mL

C) Rate for infusion: 75 mL; Volume for infusion: 75 mL

D) Rate for infusion: 1000 mL; Volume for infusion: 1000 mL

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  219, Infusion Pumps

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  4, 6

4. The physician ordered Vancomycin (vancomycin hydrochloride) 500 mg IVPB every 24 hours. The medication was placed in 100 mL of D5W to infuse over 60 minutes. What is the correct volume for infusion and rate for infusion on the infusion pump that has a microdrip tubing?

A) Secondary volume: 100 mL; Secondary rate: 100 mL

B) Secondary volume: 500 mL; Secondary rate: 10 gtt/mL

C) Secondary volume: 100 mL; Secondary rate: 60 minutes

D) Secondary volume: 500 mL; Secondary rate: 60 minutes

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  220, Labeling IVs

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  5

5. What information is missing from this IV label?

10:00 am, Jane Doe, 1000 mL D5W at 100 mL/hr or 17 gtt/min, AB (initials).

A) Date and time

B) Date and patient/client name

C) Time, room, and bed number

D) Date, room, and bed number

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6

6. The physician ordered D5 NS to run at 125 mL/hour with a drop factor of 20 gtt/mL. Calculate the IV flow rate in gtt/minute. Round off to the nearest whole number.

A) 41

B) 42

C) 43

D) 44

Difficulty:  Difficult

Page and Header:  219, Infusion Pumps; 221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  4, 6

7. The physician ordered 500 mL NS to run over 6 hours with a drop factor of 20 gtt/mL. Calculate the correct IV flow rate to set on the infusion pump.

A) 27 gtt/minute

B) 28 gtt/minute

C) 83 mL/hour

D) 84 mL/hour

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6

8. The physician ordered a unit of 250 mL packed red blood cells to infuse over 4 hours with a drop factor of 10 gtt/mL. Calculate the correct IV flow rate in milliliters per hour. Round off to the nearest whole number.

A) 42

B) 63

C) 83

D) 120

Difficulty:  Difficult

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6

9. The physician ordered 1000 mL NS to infuse over 10 hours with a drop factor of 15 gtt/mL. Calculate the correct IV flow rate in drops per minute. Round off to the nearest whole number.

A) 24

B) 25

C) 100

D) 150

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates; 226, Determining Hours an IV Will Run

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6, 7

10. The physician ordered 1000 mL of D5W to infuse at 125 mL/hour with a drop factor of 10 gtt/mL. How many hours will this IV run?

A) 6

B) 7

C) 8

D) 9

Difficulty:  Difficult

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates; 226, Determining Hours an IV Will Run

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6, 7

11. The physician ordered a total of 1500 mL of NS to infuse at 75 mL/hour with a drop factor of 15 gtt/mL. How many hours will this IV run?

A) 10

B) 15

C) 20

D) 25

Difficulty:  Difficult

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6

12. The physician ordered 1000 mL of D5W to infuse over 16 hours with a drop factor of 20 gtt/mL. Calculate the correct IV flow rate in drops per minute. Round off to the nearest whole number.

A) 21

B) 28

C) 32

D) 46

Difficulty:  Difficult

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates; 226, Determining Hours an IV Will Run

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6, 7

13. The physician ordered 2500 mL of NS to infuse in 150 mL/hour with a drop factor of 15 gtt/mL. How long will this IV run?

A) 14 hours

B) 15 hours and 30 minutes

C) 16 hours and 36 minutes

D) 17 hours

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  223, Choosing the Infusion Set

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  3

14. An IV infusion pump is not available. The nurse would use a macrodrip for the IV infusion in which instance?

A) The order specifies a large amount of fluid over a short time

B) A small amount of IV fluid is to be infused to a child

C) The IV infusion is to be administered over a long period

D) Microdrips per minute are too few to count accurately

Difficulty:  Difficult

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates; 229, Adding Medications to IVs

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6, 9

15. The physician ordered 1000 mL, D5NS with KCL 10 mEq IV over 8 hours. The nurse located a vial of potassium chloride 40 mEq/20 mL. How many milliliters of KCL should the nurse add to the IV bag?

A) 5

B) 10

C) 15

D) 20

Difficulty:  Difficult

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates; 229, Adding Medications to IVs

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6, 9

16. The physician ordered 250 mL D5NS with aminophylline 0.25 g added for administration over 1 hour, every 6 hours. The nurse located a vial of aminophylline 500 mg/20 mL. How many milliliters of medication should be added to the IV bag?

A) 5

B) 10

C) 15

D) 20

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates; 231, Medications for Intermittent IV Administration

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6, 10

17. The physician ordered clindamycin (Cleocin) 900 mg in 75 mL over 30 minutes with a drop factor of 15 gtt/mL. What is the correct IV flow rate in drops per minute? Use both the standard formula and dimensional analysis to solve this problem. Round off to the nearest whole number.

A) 37

B) 38

C) 75

D) 150

Difficulty:  Difficult

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates; 231, Medications for Intermittent IV Administration

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6, 10

18. The physician has ordered Tagamet (cimetidine) 300 mg in 50 mL D5W over 30 minutes with a drop factor of 10 gtt/mL. What is the correct IV flow rate in drops per minute? Use both the standard formula and dimensional analysis to solve this problem. Round off to the nearest whole number.

A) 16

B) 17

C) 50

D) 100

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  236, Enteral Nutrition

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  11

19. The physician ordered -strength Ensure. The total volume is 240 mL. How many milliliters of Ensure should be mixed with the water?

A) 150

B) 160

C) 170

D) 180

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  236, Enteral Nutrition

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  11

20. The physician has ordered -strength Isocal. The total volume is 100 mL. How many milliliters of water need to be mixed with the Isocal?

A) 25

B) 50

C) 75

D) 100

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  216, Types of IV Fluids; 219, Infusion Pumps

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  3, 4

21. The patient/client is ordered 500 mL of an IV solution to run over 10 hours via an infusion pump. The nurse understands that the rate will be stated and programmed as milliliters per hour. What will be the tubing factor for the infusion pump? Round off to the nearest whole number.

A) 10

B) 15

C) 20

D) 60

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6

22. The physician ordered 500 mL of D5W to run over 6 hours. How many milliliters per hour would the patient/client receive? Round off to the nearest whole number.

A) 71

B) 83

C) 100

D) 125

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates; 226, Determining Hours an IV Will Run

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6, 7

23. The physician ordered 1000 mL of NS to run at 167 mL/hour. How many hours should it take for the IV to infuse? Round off to the nearest whole number.

A) 4

B) 6

C) 8

D) 10

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6

24. The patient/client is to receive 1000 mL of NSS over a 10-hour period of time. Use a macrodrip of 15 gtt/mL and determine the drops per minute. Use dimensional analysis to calculate the answer.

A) 17

B) 25

C) 32

D) 43

Difficulty:  Difficult

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates; 231, Medications for Intermittent IV Administration

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6, 10

25. The physician ordered Timentin (ticarcillin) 500 mg in 50 mL to infuse over 30 minutes. The drop factor is 15 gtt/mL. Calculate the flow rate in drops per minute.

A) 18

B) 25

C) 38

D) 42

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6

26. The physician ordered 500 mL D5 ½ NS to run at 100 mL/hour with a drop factor of 60 gtt/mL. Calculate the IV flow rate in gtt/minute. Round off to the nearest whole number.

A) 25

B) 50

C) 75

D) 100

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates; 226, Determining Hours an IV Will Run

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6, 7

27. The physician ordered 1000 mL of LR to infuse at 83 mL/hour with a drop factor of 20 gtt/mL. How many hours will this IV run?

A) 6

B) 8

C) 10

D) 12

Difficulty:  Difficult

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6

28. The physician ordered 500 mL of D5W to infuse over 8 hours with a drop factor of 20 gtt/mL. Calculate the correct IV flow rate in drops per minute. Round off to the nearest whole number.

A) 15

B) 18

C) 21

D) 25

Difficulty:  Difficult

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates; 229, Adding Medications to IVs

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6, 9

29. The physician ordered 500 mL D5NS with 60 mEq of KCL (potassium chloride) for administration over 5 hours. The nurse located a vial of KCL, 40 mEq/20 mL. How many milliliters of medication should be added to the IV bag?

A) 10

B) 20

C) 30

D) 40

Difficulty:  Moderate

Page and Header:  221, Calculating Basic IV Drip Rates; 231, Medications for Intermittent IV Administration

Integrated Process:  Teaching/Learning

Objective:  6, 10

30. The physician ordered Solu-Cortef (hydrocortisone sodium succinate) 250 mg in 1000 mL over 10 hours with a drop factor of 10 gtt/mL. What is the correct IV flow rate in drops per minute? Use the standard formula to solve this problem. Round off to the nearest whole number.

A) 15

B) 17

C) 19

D) 21