A patient receives an IV of 20,000. units of heparin in a 100.0 mL bag over 45.0 minutes. If the pump is calibrated to 15.0 drops/mL, what is the drops per minute rate?

Answer 1

A patient receives an IV of 20 000 units of heparin in a 100.0 mL bag over 45.0 min. If the pump is calibrated to 15.0 drops/mL, what is the drops per minute rate?

The problem asks for the pump flow rate where rate is expressed in ^volume/_time. Set up the rate expression and then use dimensional analysis to convert mL into drops.

^{100.0 mL} /_{45.0 min} x ^{15.0 drops}/ _{1 mL} = 33.3 ^drops/_min