Maintenance dose gtt/min for 3% hypertonic saline after a 250 mL bolus with tubing rated at 15 gtt/mL is:

Maintenance dose gtt/min for 3% hypertonic saline after a 250 mL bolus with tubing rated at 15 gtt/mL is:

• A. 8 gtt/min
• B. 11 gtt/min
• C. 13 gtt/min
• D. 15 gtt/min

Answer: (C)

The main idea is converting a maintenance fluid rate into a drip rate. Maintenance fluid is typically given at about 1 mL per kg per hour. If we assume a patient weight of about 50 kg, that maintenance rate becomes 50 mL per hour. Now convert that to drops per minute using the drip factor. With tubing that delivers 15 drops per milliliter, 50 mL per hour equals 50 × 15 = 750 drops per hour. Dividing by 60 minutes per hour gives 750/60 = 12.5 drops per minute. Rounding to the nearest whole drop per minute gives 13 gtt/min. Therefore, the maintenance rate is about 13 gtt/min. The 250 mL bolus is the initial resuscitation step; the ongoing maintenance rate follows from the maintenance calculation and is independent of the bolus amount for this purpose.

The main idea is converting a maintenance fluid rate into a drip rate. Maintenance fluid is typically given at about 1 mL per kg per hour. If we assume a patient weight of about 50 kg, that maintenance rate becomes 50 mL per hour.

Now convert that to drops per minute using the drip factor. With tubing that delivers 15 drops per milliliter, 50 mL per hour equals 50 × 15 = 750 drops per hour. Dividing by 60 minutes per hour gives 750/60 = 12.5 drops per minute. Rounding to the nearest whole drop per minute gives 13 gtt/min.

Therefore, the maintenance rate is about 13 gtt/min. The 250 mL bolus is the initial resuscitation step; the ongoing maintenance rate follows from the maintenance calculation and is independent of the bolus amount for this purpose.