Medical Abbreviations

Medical Abbreviations

• they represent shortened forms of words
• they are an ^^efficient way of communicating quickly and concisely with other healthcare workers^^
• healthcare workers use abbreviations to ^^convey information about their patients^^
• they help ^^save time and space on medical documents^^

Examples of medical Abbreviations

• C/o: Complains of
  • Symptoms: Patient complains in the patient’s words and expressions.
  • usually, the patient is complaining of pain, fever, bleeding, swelling, difficulty to do usual acts, abnormal features…
  • usually said in non-medical terms
  • Signs: what doctors see and find and usually written in medical terms
• Temp: Temperature
  • Normal Temperature around 37°C
  • A %%high temperature%% is called a fever
• P: Pulse
  • Pulse is counting the heart rate (HR) and looking for its regularity
  • Normal around 72/min, regular
  • %%Increased HR%% is called Tachycardia
  • %%Slow HR%% is called Bradycardia
• BP: Blood Pressure
  • Normal - around 120/80
  • %%Increased BP%% (120/110) is called Hypertension HTN
  • %%Decreased BP%% (70/50) is called Hypotension
  • %%Severe hypotension%% (50/30) is called Shock

Abbreviations of Disease Names

• AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
• CHF: Congestive Heart Failure
• DVT: Deep Venous Thrombosis
• DM: Diabetes Mellitus
• RF: Renal Failure
• TB: Tuberculosis

Abbreviations of Pathogens

• HAV: Hepatitis A Virus
• HBV: Hepatitis B Virus
• HCV: Hepatitis C Virus
• HDV: Hepatitis D Virus
• HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus

Abbreviations for Laboratory Investigations

• CBC: Complete Blood Count (CBP)
• Hb: Hemoglobin
• WBC: White Blood cell
• RBC: Red Blood Corpuscles
• ESR: Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate
• BT: Bleeding Time
• CT: Clotting Time
• PT: Prothrombin Time
• C&S: Culture and Sensitivity
• GTT: Glucose Tolerance Test (Curve)

Abbreviations for Medical Imaging

• CT: Computed Tomography
• MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• ECG: Electrocardiogram
• EEG: Electroencephalogram
• EMG: Electromyogram
• CXR: Chest X-Ray

Abbreviations for Drug usage

• q.i.d. : 4 times a day
• t.i.d. : 3 times a day
• b.i.d. : twice a day
• IM: Intramuscular
• IV: Intravenous, Intravenously

Abbreviations for Hospital Rooms

• ER: Emergency Room
• ICU: Intensive Care Unit
• NICU: Neonates Intensive Care Unit
• IDU: Intensive Diseases Unit
• OR: Operation Room (Theater)

Abbreviations for Medical Process

• ALS: Advanced Life Supporter
• CPR: Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation
• Post-op: Postoperative (after surgery)
• Pre-op: Preoperative (before surgery)

Other common abbreviations

• Wt: Weight
• ~ : approximately
• % : percent
• # : pound or number
• ✓ : check or checked
• ↑ : increase or increasing
• ↓ : decrease or decreasing
• → : to the right
• ← : to the left
• △ : change or changed
• ° : degree
• ♂ : male
• ♀ : female
• cc: cubic centimeter (same as ml)