When do you use macrodrip and microdrip tubing?

MOST IV solutions are administered through regular macrodrip tubing, 10 or 12 drops per CC, depending on the manufacturer. This is called the Drop Factor. Microdrip tubing runs 60 drops per CC, and is customarily used for medications where only a small amount of the solution is infused during a 1-hour period. Examples; common Normal Saline would customarily be infused through regular macrodrip tubing, while something like Dopamine would be infused through microdrip tubing because a few drops one way or the other through macrodrip tubing could be a VERY big deal, and precise infusion is vital with a drug like Dopamine.