ABBREVIATIONS
Drug administration
In 2005, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) in the USA published National Patient Safety Goals. These include a series of recommendations about ways in which confusion (and thus errors) can be reduced by avoiding the use of certain abbreviations on prescriptions. The full set of recommendations is available at http://www.jointcommission.org/standards_information/npsgs.aspx.
Although some traditional abbreviations remain acceptable (e.g. Table 1), other commonly used ones are not. Thus, it is now recommended that the following are written in full:
- at bedtime
- once daily
- each morning
- every other day.
These four recommendations have also been adopted in PCF.
Although the following conventions have not been adopted in PCF, readers should be aware of the following recommendations for handwritten and printed prescriptions, and other printed medical matter, e.g. packaging, patient records:
- include a space between the drug dose and the unit of measure, e.g. 25 mg, not 25mg
- write 'per' instead of an oblique (mistaken for a figure 1), e.g. 200 mg per day, not 200mg/day
- use 'subcut' or 'subcutaneous' instead of SC (mistaken for SL)
- write 'less than' or 'greater than' instead of < and > (mistaken for a letter L or figure 7; or written the wrong way round and thus signifying the opposite of the intended meaning).
Further, although it has been recommended in the UK that ‘PR’ (prolonged-release) should become the generic term for ‘slow-release’, ‘extended-release’ etc., PR is a time-honoured abbreviation for ‘per rectum’. It is in this latter sense that PR will be used in PCF. As in earlier editions, ‘m/r’ (modified-release) will be used.
Note: in earlier editions, ‘normal-release’ was used for non-modified products. However, because of international popular usage, in this edition the term ‘immediate-release’ is used (without abbreviation).
| Times | UK | Latin |
|---|---|---|
| Twice per day | b.d. | bis die |
| Three times per day | t.d.s. | ter die sumendus |
| Four times per day | q.d.s. | quarta die sumendus |
| Every 4 hours etc. | q4h | quaque quarta hora |
| Rescue medication (as needed/required) |
p.r.n. | pro re nata |
| Give immediately | stat | stat |
| a.c. | ante cibum (before food) |
| amp | ampoule containing a single dose (cf. vial) |
| CD | controlled drug; preparation subject to prescription requirements under the Misuse of Drugs Act (UK); for regulations see BNF |
| CIVI | continuous intravenous infusion |
| CSCI | continuous subcutaneous infusion |
| e/c | enteric-coated (gastroresistant) |
| ED | epidural |
| IM | intramuscular |
| IT | intrathecal |
| IV | intravenous |
| IVI | intravenous infusion |
| m/r | modified-release; alternatives, controlled-release, extended-release, prolonged-release, slow-release, sustained-release |
 |
not prescribable on NHS prescriptions |
| OTC | over the counter (i.e. can be obtained without a prescription) |
| p.c. | post cibum (after food) |
| PO | per os, by mouth |
| POM | prescription-only medicine |
| PR | per rectum |
| PV | per vaginum |
| SC | subcutaneous |
| SL | sublingual |
| TD | transdermal |
| TM | transmucosal |
| vial | sterile container with a rubber bung containing either a single or multiple doses (cf. amp) |
| WFI | water for injections |
General |
|
| * | specialist use only |
| † | unauthorized (unlicensed) use |
| ACBS | Advisory Committee on Boderline Substances |
| AHFS | American Hospital Formulary Service |
| BNF | British National Formulary |
| BP | British Pharmacopoeia |
| CHM | Commission on Human Medicines |
| CSM | Committee on Safety of Medicines (now part of CHM) |
| DH | Department of Health (UK) |
| EMEA | European Medicines Agency |
| EORTC | European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer |
| FDA | Food and Drug Administration (USA) |
| IASP | International Association for the Study of Pain |
| MHRA | Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency |
| NICE | National Institute for Health and Care Excellence |
| NPF | Nurse Prescribers’ Formulary |
| NPSA | National Patient Safety Association |
| NYHA | New York Heart Association |
| PCS/PCU | palliative care service/unit |
| PEG | percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy |
| PIL | Patient Information Leaflet (UK) |
| rINN | recommended International Non-proprietary Name |
| RPS | Royal Pharmaceutical Society |
| SIGN | Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network |
| SPC | Summary of Product Characteristics (UK) |
| UK | United Kingdom |
| UKMI | UK Medicines Information |
| USA | United States of America |
| USP | United States Pharmacopoeia |
| VAS | visual analogue scale, 0–100mm |
| WHO | World Health Organization |
Medical |
|
| ACE | angiotensin-converting enzyme |
| ADH | antidiuretic hormone (vasopressin) |
| AMPA | α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid |
| ATP | adenosine triphosphate |
| AUC | area under the plasma concentration–time curve |
| β2 | beta 2 adrenergic (receptor) |
| CHF | congestive heart failure |
| Cmax | maximum plasma drug concentration |
| CNS | central nervous system |
| COX | cyclo-oxygenase; alternative, prostaglandin synthase |
| COPD | chronic obstructive pulmonary disease |
| CKD | chronic kidney disease |
| CRP | C-reactive protein |
| CSF | cerebrospinal fluid |
| CT | computed tomography |
| δ | delta-opioid (receptor) |
| D2 | dopamine type 2 (receptor) |
| DIC | disseminated intravascular coagulation |
| DVT | deep vein thrombosis |
| ECG (EKG) | electrocardiogram |
| EFT | enteral feeding tube |
| ERCP | endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography |
| FBC | full blood count |
| FEV1 | forced expiratory volume in 1 second |
| FRC | functional residual capacity |
| FSH | follicle-stimulating hormone |
| FVC | forced vital capacity of lungs |
| GABA | gamma-aminobutyric acid |
| GI | gastro-intestinal |
| Hb | haemoglobin |
| HIV | human immunodeficiency virus |
| H1, H2 | histamine type 1, type 2 (receptor) |
| Ig | immunoglobulin |
| INR | international normalized ratio |
| κ | kappa-opioid (receptor) |
| LABA | long-acting β2-adrenergic receptor agonist |
| LFTs | liver function tests |
| LH | luteinizing hormone |
| LMWH | low molecular weight heparin |
| MAOI | mono-amine oxidase inhibitor |
| MARI | mono-amine re-uptake inhibitor |
| MRI | magnetic resonance imaging |
| MSU | mid-stream specimen of urine |
| μ | mu-opioid (receptor) |
| NaSSA | noradrenergic and specific serotoninergic antidepressant |
| NDRI | noradrenaline (norepinephrine) and dopamine re-uptake inhibitor |
| NG | nasogastric |
| NJ | nasojejunal |
| NMDA | N-methyl D-aspartate |
| NNH | number needed to harm, i.e. the number of patients needed to be treated in order to harm one patient sufficiently to cause withdrawal from a drug trial |
| NNT | number needed to treat, i.e. the number of patients needed to be treated in order to achieve 50% improvement in one patient compared with placebo |
| NO | nitric oxide |
| NRI | noradrenaline (norepinephrine) re-uptake inhibitor |
| NSAID | non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug |
| PaCO2 | arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide |
| PaO2 | arterial partial pressure of oxygen |
| PCA | patient-controlled analgesia |
| PE | pulmonary embolus/embolism |
| PEF | peak expiratory flow |
| PG | prostaglandin |
| PPI | proton pump inhibitor |
| RCT | randomized controlled trial |
| RIMA | reversible inhibitor of mono-amine oxidase type A |
| RTI | respiratory tract infection |
| SaO2 | oxygen saturation |
| SNRI | serotonin and noradrenaline (norepinephrine) re-uptake inhibitor |
| SRE | skeletal-related events |
| SSRI | selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor |
| TCA | tricyclic antidepressant |
| TIBC | total iron-binding capacity; alternative, plasma transferrin concentration |
| TlCO | transfer factor of the lung for carbon monoxide |
| Tmax | time to reach Cmax |
| UTI | urinary tract infection |
| VEGF | vascular endothelial growth factor |
| VIP | vaso-active intestinal polypeptide |
| WBC | white blood cell |
| w/v | weight of solute (g) per 100mL |
Units |
|
| cm | centimetre(s) |
| cps | cycles per sec |
| dL | decilitre(s) |
| g | gram(s) |
| Gy | Gray(s), a measure of radiation |
| h | hour(s) |
| Hg | mercury |
| kcal | kilocalories |
| kg | kilogram(s) |
| L | litre(s) |
| mg | milligram(s) |
| microL | microlitre(s) |
| micromol | micromole(s) |
| mL | millilitre(s) |
| mm | millimetre(s) |
| mmol | millimole(s) |
| min | minute(s) |
| mosmol | milli-osmole(s) |
| msec | millisecond |
| nm | nanometre(s) |
| nmol | nanomole(s); alternative, nM |
| sec | second(s) |