Pharmacy Abbreviations
aa - affected area
a.d. - right ear
a.s. - left ear
a.u. - each ear
IM - intramuscular
IV - intravenous
IVP - intravenous push
IVPB - intravenous piggyback
KVO - keep vein open
n.g.t. - naso-gastric tube
n.p.o. - nothing by mouth
nare - nostril
o.d. - right eye
o.s. - left eye
o.u. - each eye
per neb - by nebulizer
p.o. - by mouth
p.r. - rectally
p.v. - vaginally
SC or SQ - subcutaneously
S.L. - sublingually (under the tongue)
top. - topically
amp. - ampule
aq or aqua - water
caps - capsule
cm or crm - cream
elix. - elixir
liq. - liquid
sol. - solution
supp. - suppository
SR, XR, or XL - slow/extended release
syr. - syrup
tab. - tablet
ung. or oint - ointment
a.c. - before food, before meals
a.m. - morning
atc - around the clock
b.i.d. or bid - twice a day
b.i.w. or biw - twice a week
h or ° - hour
h.s. - at bedtime
p.c. - after food, after meals
p.m. - evening
p.r.n. or prn - as needed
q.i.d. or qid - four times a day
q - each, every
q.d. - every day
q_h or q_° - every__hour(s) (i.e., q8h would be translated as every 8 hours)
qod - every other day
stat - immediately
t.i.d. or tid - three times a day
t.i.w. or tiw - three times a week
wa - while awake
ad - to, up to
aq. ad - add water up to
BSA - body surface area
cc - cubic centimeter
dil - dilute
f or fl. - fluid
fl. oz. - fluid ounce
g, G, or gm - gram
gr. - grain
gtt - drop(s)
l or L - liter
mcg or μg - microgram
mEq - milliequivalent
mg - milligram
ml or mL - milliliter
q.s. - a sufficient quantity
q.s. ad - add a sufficient quantity to make
ss - one-half (commonly used with Roman numerals to add a value of 0.5)
Tbs or T - tablespoon
tsp or t - teaspoon
U - unit
> - greater than
< - less than
c - with
disp. - dispense
n/v - nausea and vomiting
neb - nebulizer
NR - no refills
NS or NSS - normal saline, normal saline solution
s - without
Sig or S - write, label
SOB - shortness of breath
T.O. - telephone order
ut dict or u.d. - as directed
V.O. - verbal order