Medical Abbreviations
A handy guide to common abbreviations used by the NHS
Have you ever looked at your prescription and thought "what do all these letters mean?!" Perhaps you've had a report from your doctor or local hospital and been baffled by medical jargon?
Here at our Aylesbury Home Care office we've recently started providing care services for an NHS and Buckinghamshire Council initiative called Discharge to Assess (D2A), and we've spent a long time Googling the terms in the referrals (SJAs)!
As big fans of plain English in our home care plans, we've put together a list of the most commonly used medical abbreviations we've seen so far.
Please feel free to bookmark it so you can come back to it qod, qd or even qds, and hopefully together we can keep that BP down!
| q1h | Every hour |
| qh | Every hour |
| q2h | Every 2 hours |
| q4h | Every 4 hours |
| q6h | Every 6 hours |
| q8h | Every 8 hours |
| qod | Every other day |
| q1d | Every day |
| qd | Every day |
| OD | Once a day |
| BDS | 2 times a day |
| bid | 2 times a day |
| bd | 2 times a day |
| tds | 3 times a day |
| tid | 3 times a day |
| qds | 4 times a day |
| qid | 4 times a day |
| PRN | As needed |
| ud | As directed |
| qs | a sufficient quantity |
| a.c. | Before meals |
| gtt | drop(s) |
| i | 1 tablet |
| ii | 2 tablets |
| iii | 3 tablets |
| IM | Injection into a muscle |
| IV | injection into a vein |
| IVI | Intravenous infusion |
| IVP | Intravenous pyelogram |
| M/R | Modified release |
| NBM | Nil by mouth |
| Nocte | Every night |
| NPO | not by oral administration |
| NSAID | Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug |
| p.c. | After food |
| PO | Orally/by mouth |
| PR | Rectally |
| S/R | Sustained release |
| SC | injection under the skin |
| stat. | immediately, with no delay, now |
| BNO | Bowels not open |
| BO | Bowels open |
| CSU | Catheter stream urine sample |
| CT Scan | Computerised tomography |
| CXR | Chest x-ray |
| Dx | Diagnosis |
| ECG | Electrocardiogram |
| EEG | Electroencephalogram |
| EMU | Early morning urine sample |
| ESR | Erythrocyte sedimentation rate |
| EUA | Examination under anaesthetic |
| h/o | History of |
| Hx | History |
| Ix | Investigations |
| LA | Local anaesthetic |
| LFT | Liver function test |
| MRI | Magnetic resonance imaging |
| MSU | Mid-stream urine sample |
| NAD | Nothing abnormal discovered |
| NAI | Non-accidental injury |
| o/e | On examination |
| p/c | Presenting complaint |
| POP | Plaster of Paris |
| PTT | Partial thromboplastin time |
| PU | Passed urine |
| ROSC | Return of spontaneous circulation |
| Rx | Treatment |
| 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 |
| UCC | Urgent care centre |
| # | Fracture |
| AF | Atrial fibrillation |
| BMI | Body mass index |
| BP | Blood pressure |
| CSF | Cerebrospinal fluid |
| CVP | Central venous pressure |
| DVT | Deep vein thrombosis |
| FBC | Full blood count |
| Hb | Haemoglobin |
| HDL | High-density lipoprotein |
| HRT | Hormone replacement therapy |
| LDL | Low-density lipoprotein |
| MRSA | Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus |
| NG | Nasogastric |
| NoF | Neck of femur |
| RTA | Road traffic accident |
| STEMI | ST segment elevation myocardial infarction |
| U&E | Urea and electrolytes |
| UTI | Urinary tract infection |
| VLDL | Very-low density lipoprotein |
| VTE | Venous thromboembolism |
| DNACPR | Do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation |
| DNAR | Do not attempt resuscitation |
| DNR | Do not resuscitate |
| AMHP | Approved Medical Health Professional |
| CMHN | Community Mental Health Nurse |
| CPN | Community Psychiatric Nurse |
| HCA | Healthcare Assistant |
| HCSW | Healthcare Support Worker |
| OT | Occupational Therapist |
| Physio | Physiotherapist |
| RN | Registered Nurse |
| RNLD | Learning Disability Nurse |
| SLT | Speech and Language Therapist |
| SpR | Specialist Registrar |
| FY1 FY2 | Foundation Doctor |
Please note that all information is provided for general guidance only, and that medical staff sometimes use the same abbreviation to mean different things. You should make any health decisions based on the specific personal advice of an appropriate medical professional. For more information about these terms, please see here.
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