List of medical abbreviations: Difference between revisions

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Abbreviations are used very frequently in medicine. They boost efficiency as long as they are used intelligently. The advantages of brevity should be weighed against the possibilities of obfuscation (making the communication harder for others to understand) and ambiguity (having more than one possible interpretation). Certain medical abbreviations are avoided to prevent mistakes, according to best practices (and in some cases regulatory requirements); these are flagged in the list of abbreviations used in medical prescriptions.

Orthographic styling

Periods (stops)

Periods (stops) are often used in styling abbreviations. Prevalent practice in medicine today is often to forgo them as unnecessary.

Example:
- Less common: The diagnosis was C.O.P.D.
  [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]
- More common: The diagnosis was COPD ^[1]

Plurals

The prevalent way to represent plurals for medical acronyms and initialisms is simply to affix a lowercase s (no apostrophe).

Example: one OCP, two OCPs [oral contraceptive pills]. ^[2]

Possessives

Possessive forms are not often needed, but can be formed using apostrophe + s. Often the writer can also recast the sentence to avoid it.

Example:
- BP's effect on risk of MI is multifaceted.
- The effect of BP on MI risk is multifaceted.

Arrows

Arrows may be used to indicate numerous conditions including elevation (↑), diminution (↓), and causation (→, ←).^[3]

Pronunciation

Pronunciation follows convention outside the medical field, in which acronyms are generally pronounced as if they were a word (JAMA, SIDS), initialisms are generally pronounced as individual letters (DNA, SSRI), and abbreviations generally use the expansion (soln. = "solution", sup. = "superior"). Abbreviations of weights and measures are pronounced using the expansion of the unit (mg = "milligram") and chemical symbols using the chemical expansion (NaCl = "sodium chloride"). Some initialisms deriving from Latin may be pronounced either as letters (qid = "cue eye dee") or using the English expansion (qid = "four times a day").^{[citation needed]}

Some common medical abbreviations

Notation conventions

This series of lists omits periods from acronyms and initialisms.
It uses periods for certain abbreviations that traditionally often have them (mostly older Latin/Neo-Latin abbreviations). For example, both bid and b.i.d. may be found in the list.
It generally uses the singular form of an abbreviation (not the plural) as the headword.
This list uses significant capitalization for headwords (the abbreviations) and their expansions. ^[4]

EG abb	EG full name	Other (ver change, need to know...etc.)
ABG	arterial blood gas
ACE	angiotensin-converting enzyme
ACTH	adrenocorticotropic hormone
AFVSS	Afebrile, vital signs stable^[5]
ADH	antidiuretic hormone
AED	automated external defibrillator
AIDS	acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
ALP	alkaline phosphatase
ALT	alanine aminotransferase	old version is SGPT
ASA	acetylsalicylic acid	aspirin
AST	aspartate aminotransferase	old version is SGOT
ATP	adenosine triphosphate
BCG	bacille Calmette-Guérin
bd, bid	2 times a day
BIBA	brought in by ambulance
BIBP, BIBPD	brought in by police
BLS	basic life support
BMR	basal metabolic rate
BP	blood pressure
BPAD	bipolar affective disorder
BPD	borderline personality disorder	Often incorrectly used for bipolar disorder (BPAD is preferred)
BSA	body surface area
BR	bedside rounds
BUN	blood urea nitrogen
C	Celsius; centigrade; complement
Ca	calcium
CAMP, cAMP	cyclic adenosine monophosphate
CBC	complete blood count
CDC	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
cGy	centigray
Ci	curie
CK	creatine kinase
Cl	chloride; chlorine
cm	centimeter(s)/centimetre(s)
CNS	central nervous system
CO2	carbon dioxide
COPD	chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
CPK	creatine phosphokinase
CPK-MB	creatine phosphokinase muscle bandisoenzyme
CPR	cardiopulmonary resuscitation
CSF	cerebrospinal fluid
CT	computed tomography
Cu	cubic
D & C	dilation and curettage
dL	deciliter(s)/decilitre(s)	1 dL = 100 mL
DNA	deoxyribonucleic acid
DTP	diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis(toxoids/vaccine)
D/W	dextrose in water
ECF	extracellular fluid
ECG	electrocardiogram
EEG	electroencephalogram
EGD	esophagogastroduodenoscopy
ENT	ear nose and throat
ERCP	endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
ESR	erythrocyte sedimentation rate
F	Fahrenheit
FDA	U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Ft	foot; feet	measure unit
FUO	fever of unknown origin
G, g	gram(s)
GFR	glomerular filtration rate
GI	gastrointestinal
GVHD	graft-versus-host disease
G6PD	glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase
GU	genitourinary
Gy	gray
H, h, hr	hour(s)	'/24' is generally used in some regions.
Hb	hemoglobin
HCl	hydrochloric acid; hydrochloride
HCO3	bicarbonate
Hct	hematocrit
Hg	mercury
HIPAA	Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
HIV	human immunodeficiency virus
HLA	human leukocyte antigen
HMG-CoA	hydroxymethyl glutaryl coenzyme A
hs	at bedtime
Hz	hertz	cycles/second unit
ICF	intracellular fluid
ICU	intensive care unit
IgA	etc. immunoglobulin A
IL	interleukin
IM	intramuscular(ly)
INR	international normalized ratio
IPPB	intermittent positive pressure breathing
IU	international unit
IV	intravenous(ly)
IVU	intravenous urography
K	potassium
kcal	kilocalorie(s)	mean food calorie
kg	kilogram(s)
L	liter(s)/litre(s)
lb	pound(s)
LDH	lactic dehydrogenase
LDLc	low-density lipoprotein cholesterol
M	molar
m	meter(s)/metre(s)
mane	in the morning
mc	micro-	required in some regions to avoid the confusion of 'μ' with 'm' ('milli-').
MCH	mean corpuscular hemoglobin
MCHC	mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration
mCi	millicurie
MCV	mean corpuscular volume
mEq	Milliequivalent
midi	midday
Mg	magnesium
mg	milligram(s)
MI	myocardial infarction
MIC	minimum inhibitory concentration
min(s)	minute(s)	'/60' is used in some regions.
mIU	milli-international unit
mL, ml	milliliter(s)/millilitre(s)
mm	millimeter(s)/millimetre(s)
mmol	millimole(s)
mo	month	'/12' is used in some regions.
mol	wt molecular weight
mOsm	milliosmole(s)
MRI	magnetic resonance imaging
N	nitrogen; normal	unit to measure strength of solution
Na	sodium
NaCl	sodium chloride
NAEON	no adverse events overnight^[6]
ng	nanogram	billionth of a gram; also known as millimicrogram
nm	nanometer	billionth of a meter; also known as millimicron
nmol	nanomole
nocte	at night
Npo	nothing by mouth/nil by mouth
NSAID	nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug
O2	oxygen
OTC	over-the-counter	pharmaceuticals
oz	ounce(s)
P	phosphorus; pressure
PAco2	alveolar carbon dioxide partial pressure
Paco2	arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure
PAo2	alveolar oxygen partial pressure
Pao2	arterial oxygen partial pressure
PAS	periodic acid-Schiff
Pco2	carbon dioxide partial pressure	or tension
PCR	polymerase chain reaction
PET	positron emission tomography
pg	picogram(s)	micromicrogram
pH	hydrogen ion concentration
PMN	polymorphonuclear leukocyte
po	orally
Po2	oxygen partial pressure	or tension
PPD	purified protein derivative	tuberculin
ppm	parts per million
prn	as needed	from the Latin pro re nata
PT	prothrombin time
PTT	partial thromboplastin time
q	every
qid	4 times a day
RA	rheumatoid arthritis
RBC	red blood cell
RNA	ribonucleic acid
Sao2	arterial oxygen saturation
SBE	subacute bacterial endocarditis
sc	subcutaneous(ly)
s/e	side-effect(s)
SI	International System of Units
SIDS	sudden infant death syndrome
SLE	systemic lupus erythematosus
soln	solution
sp	species	singular
spp	species	plural
sp gr	specific gravity
sq	square
SSRI	selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
STS	serologic test(s) for syphilis
T&A	tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy
TB	tuberculosis
tds	3 times a day	tid preferred in some regions
TIBC	total iron-binding capacity
tid	3 times a day	tds preferred in some regions
TPN	total parenteral nutrition
URI	upper respiratory infection
URTI	upper respiratory tract infection
UTI	urinary tract infection
WBC	white blood cell
WHO	World Health Organization
WR	ward round
wt	weight
μ	micro-; micron
μCi	microcurie
μg	microgram(s)
μL	microliter(s)/microlitre(s)
μm	micrometer(s)/micrometre(s)	also referred to as microns
μmol	micromole(s)
μOsm	micro-osmole(s)
mμ	millimicron(s)	also referred to as nanometers/nanometres

References

^ Vera Pyle’s Current Medical Terminology, 11th Ed., Health Professions Institute, Modesto, California, 2007, p. 174
^ The AAMT Book of Style for Medical Transcription, 2nd Ed., Peg Hughes, CMT, American Association for Medical Transcription, ISBN 0-935229-38-8, copyright 2002
^ "Stedman's Online | Reference" (PDF).
^ The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 28th Ed., page xi, Merck Research Laboratories, Whitehouse Station, NJ, 2006
^ "Abbreviations.com". Abbreviations.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021.
^ "AllAcronyms". AllAcronyms. January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

Movshovitz-Attias, Dana; Cohen, William W. (2012). Alignment-HMM-based Extraction of Abbreviations from Biomedical Text. Montreal, Canada: NAACL. [1].
Davis, Neil M. (2014). Medical Abbreviations: 32,000 Conveniences at the Expense of Communication and Safety (15th ed.). Warminster, PA, USA: Neil M Davis Associates. ISBN 978-0-931431-15-9. Available online (by subscription) at MedAbbrev.com.
Jablonski, Stanley (2008). Jablonski's Dictionary of Medical Acronyms and Abbreviations with CD-ROM (6th ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders. ISBN 978-1-4160-5899-1.
Sloane, Sheila B. (1997). Medical Abbreviations & Eponyms (2nd ed.). Philadelphia: Saunders. ISBN 978-0-7216-7088-1.

External links

[1] Vera Pyle’s Current Medical Terminology, 11th Ed., Health Professions Institute, Modesto, California, 2007, p. 174

[2] The AAMT Book of Style for Medical Transcription, 2nd Ed., Peg Hughes, CMT, American Association for Medical Transcription, ISBN 0-935229-38-8, copyright 2002

[3] "Stedman's Online | Reference" (PDF).

[4] The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 28th Ed., page xi, Merck Research Laboratories, Whitehouse Station, NJ, 2006

[5] "Abbreviations.com". Abbreviations.com. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

[6] "AllAcronyms". AllAcronyms. January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 22, 2021.

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