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Abbreviations you may find in your health records
Here you can find out what some of the most common medical abbreviations mean. This may be useful if you want to understand your health records. An abbreviation is a short way of writing a longer word or phrase.
Important
Healthcare staff sometimes use the same abbreviations to mean different things.
If you do not know what something in your health records means, ask your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
Swan Medical Group Commonly Used Abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Number/7 eg: 3/7 | Number of days eg: 3 days |
| Number/52 eg: 2/52 | Number of weeks eg: 2 weeks |
| Number/ 12 eg: 1/12 | Number of months eg: 1 month |
| LMP | Last menstrual period |
| CP | Chest pain |
| SoB | Shortness of breath |
| SoBOE | SoB on exertion |
| SoBAR | SoB at rest |
| K | Period |
| Number/40 eg 3/40 | Number of weeks pregnant out of usual gestation of 40 weeks |
| O/E | On examination |
| HS I II +nil | Heart sounds normal- no murmur heard |
| TM | Tympanic membrane/ ear drum |
| Cx | Cervical |
| LN | Lymph node |
| Reg- eg: HR reg or pulse reg | Heart rate/ pulse regular- no sign of irregular heartbeat/ arrhythmia |
| SNT | Soft, non-tender eg: examination of the abdomen normal |
| Organomegaly- (usually no preceding) | No enlargement of the liver, spleen or kidneys felt |
| Guarding (usually no preceding) | A sign of worrying cause for abdominal pain- found rarely eg. in appendicitis or gut perforation |
| Suprapubic | Above the pubic bone in the central lower abdomen |
| RUQ | Right upper quadrant- upper right quarter of the abdomen where gall bladder/ liver are |
| RIF | Right iliac fossa- lower right quarter of the abdomen where large bowel starts and appendix usually located, ovary low in pelvis down here too |
| LUQ | Left upper quadrant- spleen and bowel located here |
| LIF | Left iliac fossa- last part of large bowel and ovary |
| MC&S | Microscopy, culture, and sensitivity test for infection eg: urine or sputum |
| CXr | Chest x-ray |
| Px | Prescription |
| Ix | Investigation |
| Rx | Treatment |
| Mx | Management |
| TCI | To come in- patient invited in to be seen F2F- face to face |
| Consultation usually finished with I: P: | Impression: Plan: |
| WAG | Worsening advice given- what to do if things worsen |
| PIL | Patient information leaflet |
| 2WW | An urgent referral for patient to be contacted within 2 weeks to exclude the possibility of cancer |
| PRN | Pro re nata= as needed |
| OM | Omni mane= in the morning |
| ON | Omni nocte= at night |
| CMHT | Community Mental Health Team |
| OPMHT | Older Persons Mental Health Team |
| RACPC | Rapid access chest pain clinic |
| RAC | Rapid access clinic |
| OPRAC | Older Persons rapid access clinic |
List of abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Meaning |
|---|---|
| # | broken bone (fracture) |
| A&E | accident and emergency |
| a.c. | before meals |
| a.m., am, AM | morning |
| AF | atrial fibrillation |
| AMHP | approved mental health professional |
| APTT | activated partial thromboplastin time (a measure of how long it takes your blood to clot) |
| ASQ | Ages and Stages Questionnaire (a set of questions about children’s development) |
| b.d.s, bds, BDS | 2 times a day |
| b.i.d., bid, bd | twice a day / twice daily / 2 times daily |
| BMI | body mass index |
| BNO | bowels not open |
| BO | bowels open |
| BP | blood pressure |
| c/c | chief complaint |
| CMHN | community mental health nurse |
| CPN | community psychiatric nurse |
| CSF | cerebrospinal fluid |
| CSU | catheter stream urine sample |
| CT scan | computerised tomography scan |
| CVP | central venous pressure |
| CXR | chest X-ray |
| DNACPR | do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation |
| DNAR | do not attempt resuscitation |
| DNR | do not resuscitate |
| Dr | doctor |
| DVT | deep vein thrombosis |
| Dx | diagnosis |
| ECG | electrocardiogram |
| ED | emergency department |
| EEG | electroencephalogram |
| EMU | early morning urine sample |
| ESR | erythrocyte sedimentation rate (a type of blood test used to help diagnose conditions associated with inflammation) |
| EUA | examination under anaesthetic |
| FBC | full blood count (a type of blood test) |
| FY1 FY2 | foundation doctor |
| GA | general anaesthetic |
| gtt., gtt | drop(s) |
| h., h | hour |
| h/o | history of |
| Hb | haemoglobin (a substance in red blood cells that moves oxygen around the body) |
| HCA | healthcare assistant |
| HCSW | healthcare support worker |
| HDL | high-density lipoprotein (a type of cholesterol) |
| HRT | hormone replacement therapy |
| Ht | height |
| Hx | history |
| i | 1 tablet |
| ii | 2 tablets |
| iii | 3 tablets |
| i.m., IM | injection into a muscle |
| i.v., IV | injection directly to a vein |
| INR | international normalised ratio (a measure of how long blood takes to clot) |
| IVI | intravenous infusion |
| IVP | intravenous pyelogram (an X-ray of your urinary tract) |
| Ix | investigations |
| LA | local anaesthetic |
| LDL | low-density lipoprotein (a type of cholesterol) |
| LFT | liver function test (a type of blood test measuring enzymes and proteins in your liver) |
| LMP | last menstrual period |
| M/R | modified release |
| MRI | magnetic resonance imaging |
| MRSA | methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus |
| MSU | mid-stream urine sample |
| n.p.o., npo, NPO | nothing by mouth / not by oral administration |
| NAD | nothing abnormal discovered |
| NAI | non-accidental injury |
| NBM | nil by mouth |
| NG | nasogastric (running between your nose and stomach) |
| nocte | every night |
| NoF | neck of femur |
| NSAID | non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug |
| o.d., od, OD | once a day |
| o/e | on examination |
| OT | occupational therapist |
| p.c. | after food |
| p.m., pm, PM | afternoon or evening |
| p.o., po, PO | orally / by mouth / oral administration |
| p.r., pr, PR | rectally |
| p.r.n., prn, PRN | as needed |
| p/c | presenting complaint |
| physio | physiotherapist |
| POP | plaster of paris |
| PTT | partial thromboplastin time (a measure of how quickly your blood clots) |
| PU | passed urine |
| q. | every |
| q.1.d., q1d | every day |
| q.1.h., q1h | every hour |
| q.2.h., q2h | every 2 hours |
| q.4.h., q4h | every 4 hours |
| q.6.h., q6h | every 6 hours |
| q.8.h., q8h | every 8 hours |
| q.d., qd | every day / daily |
| q.d.s, qds, QDS | 4 times a day |
| q.h., qh | every hour, hourly |
| q.i.d, qid | 4 times a day |
| q.o.d., qod | every other day / alternate days |
| q.s., qs | a sufficient quantity (enough) |
| RN | registered nurse |
| RNLD | learning disability nurse |
| ROSC | return of spontaneous circulation |
| RTA | road traffic accident |
| Rx | treatment |
| s.c., SC | injection under the skin |
| S/R | sustained release |
| SLT | speech and language therapist |
| SpR | specialist registrar |
| stat. | immediately, with no delay, now |
| STEMI | ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction |
| t.d.s, tds, TDS | 3 times a day |
| t.i.d., tid | 3 times a day |
| TCI | to come in |
| TFT | thyroid function test |
| TPN | total parenteral nutrition |
| TPR | temperature, pulse and respiration |
| TTA | to take away |
| TTO | to take out |
| U&E | urea and electrolytes |
| u.d., ud | as directed |
| UCC | urgent care centre |
| UTI | urinary tract infection |
| VLDL | very-low density lipoprotein (a type of cholesterol) |
| VTE | venous thromboembolism (a blood clot that forms in a vein) |
| Wt | weight |
