Medical Abbreviations and Symbols for Pharmacology and Patient Care

AC

before meals

AD

right ear

AS

left ear

ATC

around the clock

AU

each ear

BID

twice a day

C or W/

with

BIW

twice per week

C-I, C-II, C-III, C-IV, C-V

Refers to Controlled Substance Schedule

D/C

discontinue, discharge

DDI

drug-drug interaction

DPI

dry powder inhaler

dtd

of such doses

EC

enteric coated

EN

each nostril

gtt, gtts

drop or drops

HS

at bedtime

ID

intradermal, infectious disease

IM

intramuscular

inj

injection

IU

international unit

IV

intravenous

IVP

intravenous push

IVPB

intravenous piggyback

MDI

metered dose inhaler

mL

milliliter

NR

no refills

OD

right eye

ODT

orally disintegrating tablet

OS

left eye

OTC

over the counter

OU

each eye

PC

after meals

PO

by mouth, orally

PR

per rectum

PRN

as needed

PV

per vagina

Q

every

QD

every day

Q_H

every _ hours

QID

four times a day

QOD

every other day

QS

sufficient quantity

QS AD

sufficient quantity to make

Rx

prescription

s or w/o

without

SC, SQ, subc, subs

subcutaneous

SL

sublingual

ss

one-half

STAT

immediately

supp, sup

suppository

TID

three times a day

TIW

three times a week

TOP

topically

U

units

UD

as directed

ung

ointment

WA

While awake

Wk

week

A & O

Alert and oriented

ABG

Arterial blood gas

ADL

Activity of daily living

ADR

Adverse drug reaction

ALT

Alanine aminotransferase

ANC

Absolute neutrophil count

aPTT, PTT

Activated partial thromboplastin time

AST

Aspartate amniotransferase

BG

Blood glucose

BMD

Bone mineral density

BMI

Body Mass index

BMP

Basic mtabolic panel

BP

blood pressure

BPM

Beats per minute, breaths per minute

BSA

Body surface area

BUN

Blood urea nitrogen

C&S

culture and susceptibility

c/o

complaing of

CBC

complete blood count

CC

cheif complaint

Cl

Cardiac Index, contraindicated

CK

creatine kinase (same as CPK)

CPK

Creatine Kinase (same as CK)

CrCl

creatine clearence

CRP

C-reactive protein

CT, CAT

computerized/computed tomography

CXR

chest X-ray

Dx

diagnosis

ECG, EKG

electrocardiogram

EF

Ejection Fraction

ESR

Erthrocyte sedimentation rate

f/u

follow-up

FBS

fasting blood sugar

FEV1

forced expiratory volume in 1 second

FPG

fasting plasma glucose

GFR

glomerular filtration rate

h/o

history of

hCG

human chorrionic gonadotropin

Hct

hemaocrit

HDL, HDL-C

high density lipoprotein

HEENT

head, eyes, ears, nose and throat