If maintenance rate is 60 mL/hour with a drop factor of 20 gtt/mL, what is the gtt/min?

If maintenance rate is 60 mL/hour with a drop factor of 20 gtt/mL, what is the gtt/min?

• A. 20
• B. 60
• C. 10
• D. 30

Answer: (A)

Understanding how to convert mL per hour to drops per minute relies on the drop factor, which tells how many drops are in one milliliter. At 60 mL per hour with a drop factor of 20 gtt/mL, there are 60 × 20 = 1200 drops per hour. Dividing by 60 minutes per hour gives 1200 ÷ 60 = 20 drops per minute. An intuitive way to see it is that 60 mL per hour equals 1 mL per minute, and with 20 drops per mL, that becomes 20 gtt per minute. So the rate is 20 gtt/min.

Understanding how to convert mL per hour to drops per minute relies on the drop factor, which tells how many drops are in one milliliter. At 60 mL per hour with a drop factor of 20 gtt/mL, there are 60 × 20 = 1200 drops per hour. Dividing by 60 minutes per hour gives 1200 ÷ 60 = 20 drops per minute. An intuitive way to see it is that 60 mL per hour equals 1 mL per minute, and with 20 drops per mL, that becomes 20 gtt per minute. So the rate is 20 gtt/min.