mL/h

Medical abbreviation · Prescription

mL/h
Stands forMilliliters per hour
CategoriesMedical

mL/h stands for Milliliters per hour, a prescription abbreviation.

Rate unit for IV infusions programmed on infusion pumps, used for maintenance fluids and as the pump setting that delivers a drug's ordered dose. Also written mL/hr.

Example: NS at 75 mL/h; heparin 25,000 units/250 mL running at 12 mL/h (1,200 units/h).

Usage notes

For medication infusions, safety guidance prefers orders written as dose per time (units/h, mg/min) rather than only mL/h, because the mL/h rate depends on the bag concentration and becomes wrong if a different concentration is dispensed. Before infusion pumps, gravity drips were counted in drops per minute.

More prescription abbreviations

  • mane – Mane (in the morning)
  • mcg – Microgram
  • mcg/kg/min – Micrograms per kilogram per minute
  • mEq – Milliequivalent
  • mg/kg – Milligrams per kilogram
  • mg/m2 – Milligrams per square meter
  • nocte – Nocte (at night)
  • non rep – Non repetatur (do not repeat)
  • NR – No refills
  • NTE – Not to exceed
  • OD – Omni die (once daily)
  • OJ – Orange juice

See all 77 prescription abbreviations →

This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.