Medical Abbreviations

It has been a while since I last updated this blog. Beside the busy schedule that I have, I am not sure what should I write here.

Anyway, I would like to introduce the common medical abbreviations that I have learned so far from my three rotations. Every time I look at patient medical records, I learned new medical abbreviation and sometimes it can be confusing to read.

First rotation: Neurosciences, Opthalmology, Ear, Nose & Throat Surgery.

AF - Atrial fibrillation
AMI - Acute Myocardial Infarction
AVM - Arteriovenous Malformation
CCF - Congestive Cardiac Failure
CIDP - Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy
CRAO - Central retinal artery occlusion
CSF - Cerebrospinal fluid
CVA - Cerebrovascular accident
GBS - Gullain-Barre syndrome
GCA - Giant cell arteritis
ICP - Intracranial Pressure
IOP - Intraocular pressure
MS - Multiple Sclerosis
MSA - Multiple System Atrophy
PERLA - Pupil Equal and Reactive to Light and Accommodation
POAG - Primary Open Angle Glaucoma
PSP - Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
RAPD - Relative Afferent Pupillary defect
SAH - Subarachnoid Haemorrhage
SOL - Space Occupying Lesion

Second rotation: Haematology, Oncology, Infectious Diseases and Breast disease.

ALL - Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
AML - Acute Myeloid Leukaemia

CHOP - Cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin (hydroxydoxorubicin), vincristine (Oncovin), prednisone

CLL - Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia
CML - Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia
DCIS - Ductal Carcinoma In-situ
DIC - Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation
EPO - Erythropoietin
ITP - Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
LCIS - Lobular Carcinoma In-situ
LRTI - Lower Respiratory Tract Infection
MGUS - Monoclonal Gammopathy of Unknown Significance
MM - Multiple Myeloma
NHL - Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
NSCLC - Non Small Cell Lung Cancer
PSA - Prostatic Specific Antigen
SCLC - Small Cell Lung Cancer
STD - Sexually Transmitted Disease
TTP - Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
URTI - Upper Respiratory Tract Infection
UTI - Urinary Tract Infection
VAD - Vincristine, adriamycin and dexamethasone

Third rotation: Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Gastrointestinal & Hepatobiliary Surgery and General Surgery.

AAA - Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
AIH - Autoimmune Hepatitis
BPH - Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
CLD - Chronic Liver Disease

ERCP - Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography

ETOH - ethanol / Ethyl alcohol
EUS - Endoscopic Ultrasonography
HBV - Hepatitis B Virus
HCC - Hepatocellular carcinoma
HCV - Hepatitis C Virus
IBD - Inflammatory Bowel Disease
IRS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome
IVDU - Intravenous Drug user

MRCP - Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography

NASH - Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis
OLT - Orthotopic Liver Transplantation
PBC - Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
PHT - Portal Hypertension
PSC - Primary sclerosing cholangitis
SBP - Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis

Duration of Time
It is common for medical professionals to use this abbreveation for time

x/24 - x number of hours
x/7 - x number of days
x/52 - x number of weeks
x/12 - x number of months

Medical Prescription

This is quite common and can cause confusion if not written properly

time
mane - morning
nocte - night

Frequency
bd - twice daily
tds - three times a day
qid - four times a day

Route of administration
po - per oral
pr - per rectum
IV - Intravenous
IM - Intramuscular
tab - tablet
supp - suppository
sc - subcutaneous

Ending with x
It is quite common to see few medical abbreviations ending with x :). I guess this is a trend among doctors and nurses.

Hx - History
Sx - Symptoms
Dx - Diagnosis
DDx - Differential Diagnosis
Rx - Treatment
Mx - Management