The alternative dictionary of medical abbreviations

Deciphering the medical code

Medicine has long been a home for concise, or if you are being cynical, deliberately obscure terminology. If you have looked at your doctor and wondered what on earth they are saying or ogled some indecipherable lingo on a clinic letter then you are not alone, you have come to the internet, and help is at hand;

1/7        1 day, e.g., the duration of a prescription

1/52      1 week- a longer prescription

1/12      Hopefully the prescription does not need to last for this long-1 month.

AAA       Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

AKA       Above knee amputation

AKI         Acute kidney injury

ABG       Arterial Blood Gas

ADL        Activities of Daily living

AF           Atrial fibrillation

APPT      Activated partial thromboplastin time.

AS           Aortic Stenosis

ASA        Grading system of anaesthetic fitness from 1-4, developed by the American Society of anaesthesiologists, but utilised worldwide.

BIBA      Brought in by ambulance.

BD          Not to be found in the bathroom unless it’s in the medicine cupboard; to be taken twice a day.

BKA        Below knee amputation.

B/L         Bilateral

BS           Bowel sounds

Bx           Biopsy

CABG     Pronounced Cabbage- coronary bypass grafting

CAP        The most overused medical acronym. Can stand for Pancreatic cancer, prostate cancer, coronary angioplasty, CT abdomen pelvis and community acquired pneumonia.

CHF        Congestive Heart Failure

CKD        Chronic Kidney Disease

CPAP      Continuous Positive Airway Pressure- a form of ventilation.

CVA        Cerebral Vascular accident or a stroke

COPD     Chronic Obstructive pulmonary Disease

CNS        Central Nervous system or clinical nurse specialist

CREST     Calcinosis, Raynaud’s, Esophageal Dysmotility, Sclerodactyly, Telangiectasia

CRP        C reactive Protein

CSF         Cerebrospinal fluid

CPR        Cardiopulmonary resuscitation

CUP       Carcinoma of unknown primary

D&C       Dilatation and Curettage

DC          Discharge

DH          Drug History

DIC         Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation

DM         Diabetes Mellitus

DNA       Did not attend appointment or Deoxyribonucleic Acid

DNR       Do not resuscitate

DVT        Deep Vein Thrombosis

Dx           Diagnosis

ESR         Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate

ETOH     Alcohol

ETOH +++            Drunk

EUA        Examination under anaesthetic

FNA       Fine Needle Aspiration

FSH        Follicular stimulating hormone

F/U         Follow up appointment.

GB          Gallbladder

GFR        Glomerular filtration rate- measurement of kidney function

GCS       Glasgow Coma Scale

Hb          Haemoglobin

Hct         Haematocrit

HSP        Henoch-Schönlein Purpura

HCV       Hepatitis C virus

HPV       Human papilloma virus

HR          Heart Rate

HRT        Hormone replacement therapy

HSV        Herpes Simplex Virus

HTN       Hypertension

I&D        Incision and drainage

IBD         Inflammatory Bowel Disease

IBS          Irritable Bowel Syndrome

ICP         Intracranial Pressure

ICU         Intensive Care Unit

IHD         Ischemic heart disease

INR         International normalised Ratio- Test for warfarin

ITP          Idiopathic thrombocytopenia Purpura

IV            Intravenous

IVDU      Intravenous Drug user

IVF         In vitro fertilisation

JVP         Jugular venous Pressure

KCl          Potassium Chloride

KPS         Karnofsky Performance Status

KS           Kaposi Sarcoma

KUB        Kidneys, Ureters, Bladder

LFT         Liver function Test

LH           Luteinising hormone

LOS        Length of stay

LMP       Last menstrual period

LP           Lumbar puncture

LUTS      Lower urinary tract symptoms

MI          Myocardial Infarction

MFFD    Medically fit for discharge. The patient has recovered from an acute medical condition but cannot go home for social reasons and may be awaiting a POC. Paradoxically being MFFD is a sign of frailty.

MND     Motor neurone disease

MRSA    Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus

MR         Mitral regurgitation

MS         Multiple Sclerosis

NAD       Nothing abnormal Discovered

NBM      Nil by mouth. Lack of adherence a common cause for delayed surgery

NG          Nasogastric

NKA       No known allergies or NKDA no known drug allergies

NIV        Non-invasive ventilation

NOF       Neck of femur fracture

NOK       Next of kin

NVH       Nonvisible haematuria

OTC        Over the counter

PCOS     Polycystic Ovarian syndrome

PE           Pulmonary Embolism

PERRLA Pupils Equal, Round, Reactive to Light and Accommodation

PKD        Polycystic kidneys disease

PO          Oral route

POC       Package of care- an agreement to provide out of hospital care.

PND       Post natal depression.

PMB      Post menopausal bleeding

PMH      Previous Medical history

PMR      Poly myalgia Rheumatica

PRN       As required medication

PSH        Previous Surgical History

PTH        Para thyroid hormone

PTNS     Posterior tibial nerve stimulation

PUO       Pyrexia of unknown origin

QDS       Four times a day

RDS        Respiratory Distress Syndrome

SALT       Speech and language Therapist

Rx           Prescription

SH           Social History

SC           Subcutaneous- as in the route of injection

SOB        Shortness of breath

SMM     Surgical management of miscarriage.

SNM      Sacral neuromodulation

SVT        Supraventricular tachycardia

T&A       Trauma and orthopaedics

TAH        Total Abdominal Hysterectomy

TDS        Taking medicines three times a day can be tedious.

TFT         Thyroid function test

TKR        Total Knee Replacement

TIA         Transient ischaemic attack or mini stroke

TMJ        Temporomandibular joint

TNM      A 3-part staging system for cancer which assesses each of; T primary tumour; N Lymph node involvement; M – metastatic or widespread disease.

TOF        Tetralogy of Fallot

TOP        Termination of pregnancy

TRALI     Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury

TSH        Thyroid stimulating hormone

TURP     Transurethral resection of prostate

TPN        Total parenteral nutrition

TTA        To take away- medication on discharge, alternatively TTO- to take out.  

TWOC   Trial without catheter- removing a urinary catheter to see if a patient can pass urine without one.

UC          Ulcerative colitis

US          Ultrasound

VF           Ventricular fibrillation

VT           Ventricular tachycardia

VTE        Venous thrombo-embolic disease

WBC      White blood cell count

X             times, number of times

X-ray      Not the only acronym beginning with X

YES         Yersinia Enterocolitica Sepsis

ZES         Zollinger Ellison syndrome