Friday, November 16, 2007

What the %$#@ does it mean?

I said , " This patient needs admission with severe CAL in MAU first , his ABG is not good, he needs CPAP before he goes for CTPA to exclude PE."
If ordinary people without medical knowledge background hear such words, they might wonder what we are talking about.There are a lot of medical jargon we use in daily life both in conversations and notes.
However, excessive usage of abbreviations can cause confusions and misunderstanding.
Here are some abbreviations ,commonly used in hospitals.

BIBA = Brought In By Ambulance
FLK = Frightening Looking Kid
LOL = Little Old Lady ( NOT Laugh Out Loud )
PAFO= Passed Out and Fell Over
PEARL= Pupils Equal And Reactive to Light
LOLINAD= Little Old Lady in Not Apparently Distressed
NGT = Naso Gastric Tube
SOB = Shortness of Breath

There was a joke that one patient was angry when he saw SOB in his medical records , because he thought that meant "Son of the Bitch " .
We should try not to use too many short forms so that we can make better communication.
LOL :)

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