Massachusetts Pharmacy Technician License Practice Test

A patient started an IV drip of drug S at 1300 and it is now 1600. If the device is set to deliver 12 gtt/min, how much of drug S has the patient received?

1. 180 ml

2. 216 ml

3. 240 ml

4. 300 ml

The correct answer is: 216 ml

To calculate the total volume of drug S that the patient has received from the IV drip, you first need to determine the duration of the drip in minutes and then convert the number of drops to milliliters, assuming you know the drop factor. The IV was started at 1300 and has been running until 1600, which is a total of 3 hours, or 180 minutes. If the drip is set to deliver 12 drops per minute, you would multiply the total time (in minutes) by the rate of the drip: 180 minutes × 12 gtt/min = 2160 gtt Now, to convert drops to milliliters, the drop factor (the number of drops per milliliter) of the IV set being used is vital. However, since this isn’t provided in the problem, we would typically assume a common drop factor for calculation. If we consider a standard drop factor, such as 10 gtt/ml, we can find the volume in milliliters received: 2160 gtt ÷ 10 gtt/ml = 216 ml Therefore, the patient has received 216 ml of drug S. This calculation aligns with the correct choice of 216 ml, which accounts for