I remember on my first day of third year of med school, I was completely stumped by the signout sheet I was handed:
68 y/o m c h/o ESRD on HD s/p cabg x 3....
I was like, "68 what what what what what on what what what?"
I basically had to have the sub-intern translate the entire thing for me word by word.
Eventually, I got to know the medicine abbreviations. Except then when I went to PM&R, there was a whole new set of abbreviations to learn. I'm guessing you're all familiar with the medicine abbreviations, but I'm curious how well my audience knows the standard rehab abbreviations. Here's a sample of ones I use very commonly, try your luck:
1. STE
2. HEP
3. FWW
4. BKA
5. ITB
6. SAH
7. ICP (I use this for two things)
8. BTP
9. AFO
10. LBP
11. ESI
12. WBAT
13. SCI
14. SLP
15. FIM
16. NCS
17. PVR
18. TTWB
19. TKA
20. SPC (I also use this for two things)
WTF?
ReplyDeleteZero.
;)
4) Below knee amputation
ReplyDelete5) Ileo-tibial band
6) Sub-arachnoid hemorrhage
7) Intracranial Pressure
12) Weight bear as tolerated
14) Speech Language Pathologist?
1. STE
ReplyDelete2. HEP
3. FWW
4. BKA - below knee amputation
5. ITB - Iliotibial band
6. SAH - subarachnoid hemorrhage
7. ICP - increased cranial pressure / ???
8. BTP
9. AFO - ankle foot orthotics
10. LBP - low back pain
11. ESI
12. WBAT - weight bearing as tolerated
13. SCI - spinal cord injury
14. SLP - speech language pathology
15. FIM
16. NCS
17. PVR - pulmonary vascular resistance?
18. TTWB - ???? weight bearing
19. TKA - total knee arthroplasty
20. SPC - ??/ ??
I've got nothin', hahaha.
ReplyDeleteSPC is suprapubic cathether
ReplyDeleteSAH: Subatachnoid hemorrhage
ICP: Intracranial pressure
BKA: Below Knee amputation
No idea what the other abb stand for!
TTWB = toe touch weight bear? I don't actually know what it means, but we (gen peds) co-manage ortho patients in the PICU and it's one of the instructions I've sent kids home with before.
ReplyDeleteSTE - may stand for ST elevation on the EKG
ReplyDeletePVR - peripherical vascular resistance
I'm not a native speaker, and the abbreviations are really different :b
They really should make medical terminology a prerequisite course for nursing, medical, pharmacy, etc.students.
ReplyDeleteOld Squid - As a pre-med I've taken medical terminology. But somehow abbreviations weren't covered. So I've got nothing.
ReplyDeleteI have at least 17 right, but I'm an Occupational Therapist, so I have an advantage.
ReplyDeleteSTE is steps to enter, sometimes in conjunction with #SH (1 story home).
FWW to me is the same as RW but faster than a SW. These are all walkers. Not rollators.
TTWB is also the same in my book as TDWB, where you can only touch a toe down for balance. The typical line is "don't crush the egg/potato chip under your toe"
HEP is home exercise program.
FIM is functional independence measure, the bane of rehab measurements.
Surprised not to see FMC/GMC, TUG, MMSE/MOCA, KELS/AMPS on this list.
Keep up the awesomeness, Dr Fizzy.
Definitely know the top part. To mean the rest of it is completely foreign.
ReplyDelete1. STE
2. HEP
3. FWW
4. BKA- bilateral knee amputation
5. ITB- IT band
6. SAH
7. ICP- intercranial pressure
8. BTP
9. AFO
10. LBP
11. ESI
12. WBAT- weight bearing as tolerated
13. SCI
14. SLP
15. FIM
16. NCS
17. PVR
18. TTWB
19. TKA- total knee arthoplasty
20. SPC
BKA below the knee amoutation, SAH, sub-arachnoid hemmorrage, TTWB, toe touch weight bearing...and I'm out.
ReplyDelete1. STE
ReplyDelete2. HEP
3. FWW
4. BKA - below the knee amputation
5. ITB
6. SAH - subarachnoid hemmorhage
7. ICP intracranial pressure
8. BTP
9. AFO
10. LBP - low back pain
11. ESI
12. WBAT
13. SCI
14. SLP
15. FIM
16. NCS
17. PVR - peripheral vascular resistance (?at least in my field).
18. TTWB
19. TKA
20. SPC
Dont you hate when people leave a consult on a patient using obscure abbreviations from their particular field without explanation?
1. STE
ReplyDelete2. HEP
3. FWW - four-wheel walker
4. BKA - below knee amputation
5. ITB
6. SAH - subarachnoid hemorrhage
7. ICP (I use this for two things) - intracranial pressure
8. BTP
9. AFO
10. LBP
11. ESI
12. WBAT
13. SCI
14. SLP - speech language pathology
15. FIM
16. NCS
17. PVR - post-void residual
18. TTWB
19. TKA - total knee arthroplasty
20. SPC (I also use this for two things)
Clearly we're all medical geeks, as we're all trying our hardest to get the questions right!
1. STE= ST elevation
ReplyDelete3. FWW= front wheel walker
7. ICP (I use this for two things)
10. LBP= lower back pain
13. SCI= spinal cord injury
at least i know what 68 y/o m c h/o ESRD on HD s/p cabg x 3 means lol.
i had a patient bring in prescription for FWW once, and we were all wtf is this? it doesn't help when patient says it's for diabetes o_O
PVR in vascular surgery is pulse volume recording, but I think shes looking for post void residual.
ReplyDeleteI'm not convinced STE is ST elevation, since that's pretty much abbreviated STEMI whereever you go. But, I dont know what else it could be.
I agree on below knee amputation, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intracranial pressure, lower back pain, spinal cord injury, and total knee arthroplasty. I'll take your guy's word for the rest of these.
Post more of these!
With all the other correctly identified rehab-related abbreviations, I'm surprised nobody else recognized SPC as Single Point Cane.
ReplyDelete1. STE ST elevation
ReplyDelete2. HEP - hepatitis?
3. FWW
4. BKA - below knee amputation
5. ITB - iliotibial band
6. SAH - subarachnoid hemorrhage
7. ICP - intracranial pressure
8. BTP
9. AFO
10. LBP - low back pain
11. ESI
12. WBAT - weight bearing as tolerated
13. SCI
14. SLP
15. FIM
16. NCS
17. PVR
18. TTWB
19. TKA - total knee arthroplasty
20. SPC suprapubic catheter
lol yeah, sometimes we got mixed up from all the abbreviations!
rehab pgy3 to the rescue!
ReplyDelete1. STE - steps to enter
2. HEP - home exercise program
3. FWW - front-wheeled walker
4. BKA - below knee amputation
5. ITB - iliotibial band
6. SAH - subarachnoid hemorrhage
7. ICP - intracranial pressure & integrated care pathway
8. BTP - breakthrough pain
9. AFO - ankle-foot orthosis
10. LBP - low back pain
11. ESI - epidural steroid injection
12. WBAT - wtbearing as tolerated
13. SCI - spinal cord injury
14. SLP - speech language pathology
15. FIM - functional independent measurement
16. NCS - nerve conduction study
17. PVR - psych vocational rehab
18. TTWB - toe-touch wtbearing
19. TKA - total knee arthroplasty
20. SPC - single point cane & suprapubic catheter
how bout these?
PMR (it's a trap!)
SCM
PNF
MFR
SBA
MAS
HO
GBS
PROM
IPH
CPM
PTA
SACH
MUAP
MWC
RSD
ASIS
RICE
(aaah. post-void residual. that one hit me like a ton of bricks.) should've added ISC to my list, too.
ReplyDeleteSomewherenorth: Nice job! :) Although I meant ICP to be intermittent cath program and BTP to be bowel training program.
ReplyDeleteAs for your list:
PMR (it's a trap!): polymyalgia rheumatica... I always see this and think someone left out the &
SCM: sternocleidomastoid?
PNF: prop neuromusc facilitation, whatever that is
MFR: myofascial release
SBA: wow, totally drawing a blank.... I have a feeling this is one that I see all the time too...
MAS: modified ashworth scale
HO: het ossification... almost put this on my list :)
GBS: guillain barre
PROM: too easy :)
IPH: intraparenchymal hemorrhage?
CPM: cont passive motion
PTA: posttraumatic amnesia
SACH: solid ankle cushion heel, my favorite SAE question
MUAP: ah, don't test the EMG expert :)
MWC: er... married with children?
RSD: CRPS I
ASIS: ant sup iliac spine
RICE: this one I'm clueless about...
SBA is Stand By Assist
ReplyDeleteRICE is Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation :^)
Annie: Thanks, that would have driven me crazy all day!
ReplyDeleteah, i've never used ICP & BTP like that. i'm sure there are plenty of abbreviation differences btwn rehab programs. we always use MWC for manual wheelchair. and yes, i felt slightly guilty for testing proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation when i still don't know when to appropriately order that for my pts on my PT script.
ReplyDeletewow. maybe we *are* as bad as ophtho with abbreviations. never thought that was possible.
No, I never heard MWC used that way. The other two I use all the time, but somehow blanked when they were out of context. Although I think of RICE as more of a mnemonic :)
ReplyDeleteI assume every field has its own set of obscure abbreviations?
Very interesting. I'm just teaching my medical students (2nd year) about using abbreviations in medical documentation. My main piece of advice is, "Don't assume that what you abbreviate something makes any sense to someone else. If in doubt, look it up to make sure it is printed in some commonly used list."
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I'm pretty sure I made some up when I was a resident and just can't shake them from use. Habits are hard to break!
This scares me just a little bit since I start my third year as a medical student in a couple of weeks and wouldn't have the foggiest idea of what many of those meant. eek!
ReplyDelete