Medical Abbreviations
Medical abbreviations and acronyms are frequently used in the healthcare field.
It is important to understand them in order to optimize charting, communication, and patient care.
Abbreviations are commonly used for pharmacy prescriptions (frequency of drug administration such as once a day, twice a day, as needed, etc), blood work, labs, tests, imaging, anatomy (left eye, right eye, abdominal quadrants, etc) and much more.
This lecture will provide you with a list of common medical abbreviations and terms for the following categories:
Charting
Vital Signs
Labs
Imaging
Pharmacy
Medications
Diagnosis/Conditions
Anatomy
Treatment/Care
Let’s get started!
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Charting Abbreviations
Let’s begin with common abbreviations you might see associated with charting.
AMA = Against Medical Advice
DC = Discharge or Discontinue
DNR = Do Not Resuscitate
H&P = History & Physical
HPI = History of Present Illness
H/O = History Of
NKDA = No Known Drug Allergies
PCP = Primary Care Physician
A&O = Alert and Oriented
WNL = Within Normal Limits
RF = Risk Factors
Sx = Symptoms
Dx = Diagnosis
Tx = Treatment
NAD = No Acute Distress
UOP = Urine Output
I&O = Intake and Output
C/O = Complaint Of
CC = Chief Complaint
ROS = Review of Systems
DDx = Differential Diagnosis
MDM = Medical Decision Making
IBW = Ideal Body Weight
DOB = Date of Birth
ICU = Intensive Care Unit
MVA = Motor Vehicle Accident
GSW = Gunshot Wound
Fx = Fracture
EBL = Estimated Blood Loss
BM = Bowel Movement
CP = Chest Pain
SOB = Shortness of Breath
DOE = Dyspnea on Exertion
STAT = Immediately
CV = Cardiovascular
GI = Gastrointestinal
ID = Infectious Disease
S/P = Status Post
FB = Foreign Body
ALS or BLS = Advanced or Basic Life Support
Lab Abbreviations
The following are common lab abbreviations.
CBC = Complete Blood Count
WBC = White Blood Cells
RBC = Red Blood Cells
Plt = Platelets
BMP = Basic Metabolic Panel
CMP = Comprehensive Metabolic Panel
LFT = Liver Function Test
H&H = Hemoglobin & Hematocrit
Hb or HGB = Hemoglobin
HCT = Hematocrit
Na = Sodium
K = Potassium
Ca = Calcium
UA = Urinalysis
ABG = Arterial Blood Gas
PT = Prothrombin Time
PTT = Partial Thromboplastin Time
INR = International Normalized Ratio
T&S = Type & Screen
T&C = Type & Cross
Imaging/Test Abbreviations
In addition to the labs above, there may also be imaging or other tests ordered for the patient.
Some of these abbreviations include:
CXR = Chest X-Ray
ABX = Abdominal X-Ray
US = Ultrasound
MRI = Magnetic Resonance Imaging
CT = Computed Tomography
EKG or ECG = Electrocardiogram
EEG = Electroencephalogram
KUB = Kidney, Ureter, and Bladder X-Ray
PFT = Pulmonary Function Test
Pharmacy Abbreviations
Let’s move on to abbreviations you might see associated with pharmacy.
Many of these are used for the frequency in which a medication is administered.
AC = Before Meals
PC = After Meals
The way you can remember AC vs PC is “A” comes before “P” in the alphabet.
So A means before meals, and P means after meals.
QD = Once Daily
BID = Twice Daily
TID = Three Times Daily
QID = Four Times Daily
QHS = Every Night at Bedtime
QAM = Every Morning
QPM = Every Evening
QOD = Every Other Day
QH = Once Every Hour
Q2H = Every 2 Hours
Q3H = Every 3 Hours
PRN = As Needed
PO = By Mouth
NPO = Nothing By Mouth
SC or SQ = Subcutaneous
IM = Intramuscular
IV = Intravenous
OTC = Over The Counter
Medication Abbreviations
Next we have abbreviations for different medications and drug names.
BB = Beta Blocker
CCB = Calcium Channel Blocker
ARB = Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker
ACEi = ACE Inhibitor
NTG = Nitroglycerin
ASA = Aspirin
ABX = Antibiotics
PCN = Penicillin
TPA = Tissue Plasminogen Activator
APAP = Acetaminophen
NS = Normal Saline
D5W = Dextrose 5% in Water
LR = Lactated Ringer’s
ETOH = Alcohol
HCTZ = Hydrochlorothiazide
MTX = Methotrexate
OCP = Oral Contraceptive Pill
TMP/SMX = Trimethoprim Sulfamethoxazole
MOM = Milk of Magnesia
PPI = Proton Pump Inhibitor
Diagnosis/Condition Abbreviations
The following are abbreviations for different diagnoses or conditions.
CAD = Coronary Artery Disease
HTN = Hypertension
DM = Diabetes Mellitus
CHF = Congestive Heart Failure
COPD = Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
MI = Myocardial Infarction
PE = Pulmonary Embolism
PNA = Pneumonia
TIA = Transient Ischemic Attack
CVA = Cerebrovascular Accident
ARDS = Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
CKD = Chronic Kidney Disease
AKI = Acute Kidney Injury
ARF = Acute Renal Failure
ESRD = End Stage Renal Disease
CF = Cystic Fibrosis
CP = Cerebral Palsy
IBD = Inflammatory Bowel Disease
IBS = Irritable Bowel Syndrome
UC = Ulcerative Colitis
PUD = Peptic Ulcer Disease
GERD = Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
ICP = Intracranial Pressure
TBI = Traumatic Brain Injury
TGA = Transient Global Amnesia
UTI = Urinary Tract Infection
URI = Upper Respiratory Infection
RAD = Reactive Airway Disease
SBO = Small Bowel Obstruction
DVT = Deep Venous Thrombosis
RSV = Respiratory Syncytial Virus
VF = Ventricular Fibrillation
VT = Ventricular Tachycardia
Afib or AF = Atrial Fibrillation
PVC = Premature Ventricular Contraction
MS = Multiple Sclerosis
PD = Parkinson’s Disease
BPH = Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
RA = Rheumatoid Arthritis
OSA = Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Anatomy Abbreviations
The following are abbreviations associated with anatomy.
The abdomen can be divided into different quadrants, especially when referring to the location of abdominal pain or site of injury.
RUQ = Right Upper Quadrant
LUQ = Left Upper Quadrant
RLQ = Right Lower Quadrant
LLQ = Left Lower Quadrant
There are 4 chambers of the heart.
RA = Right Atrium
LA = Left Atrium
RV = Right Ventricle
LV = Left Ventricle
The 4 extremities can also be abbreviated as follows:
RUE = Right Upper Extremity
LUE = Left Upper Extremity
RLE = Right Lower Extremity
LLE = Left Lower Extremity
The abdomen can be abbreviated as follows:
ABD = Abdomen
The lungs can be divided into different fields.
LUL = Left Upper Lobe
LLL = Left Lower Lobe
RUL = Right Upper Lobe
RML = Right Middle Lobe
RLL = Right Lower Lobe
Miscellaneous Anatomical Abbreviations:
CBD = Common Bile Duct
OD = Right Eye
OS = Left Eye
OU = Both Eyes
HC = Head Circumference
Treatment/Care Abbreviations
Let’s wrap this up with abbreviations you might see associated with treatment or care.
Bx = Biopsy
ECMO = Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation
FNA = Fine Needle Aspiration
I&D = Incision & Drainage
PT = Physical Therapy
OT = Occupational Therapy
PEEP = Positive End Expiratory Pressure
CPAP = Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
BiPAP = Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure
CABG = Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
IVIG = Intravenous Immunoglobulin
ORIF = Open Reduction Internal Fixation
NGT = Nasogastric Tube
Pre-Op = Preoperative
Post-Op = Postoperative
POC = Point of Care
AKA = Above the Knee Amputation
BKA = Below the Knee Amputation
PPE = Personal Protective Equipment
IUP = Intrauterine Pregnancy
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