Dangerous Medical Abbreviations

Front 1

U

Back 1

unit

Front 2

IU

Back 2

international unit

Front 3

q.d. or Q.D.
q.o.d. or Q.O.D.

Back 3

(Latin abbreviations for once daily and every other day)

Transcribe: daily or every other day

Front 4

Trailing zero ( X.0)
{Note: Prohibited only for medication-related notations}
or
Lack of leading zero ( .5)

Back 4

Never write a zero by itself after a decimal point (X mg), and always use a zero before a decimal point ( 0.X mg)

Front 5

MS
MS04
MgS04

Back 5

Transcribe: morphine sulfate
or
magnesium sulfate

Front 6

μg

Back 6

mcg

Front 7

h.s. or H.S.

Back 7

Transcribe: half-strength
or
(Latin abbreviation for bedtime)
at bedtime

Front 8

t.i.w. or T.I.W.

Back 8

3 times weekly
or
three times weekly

Front 9

s.c. or S.C.
or
s.q. or S.Q.

Back 9

subcutaneous
or
subcutaneously

Front 10

D/C

Back 10

discharge

Front 11

cc

Back 11

mL

Front 12

A.S., A.D., or A.U.
(Latin abbreviation for left, right, or both ears)

Back 12

left ear, right ear, or both ears

Front 13

Apothecary symbols:
dram
minim

Back 13

Use the metric system

Front 14

ARA A, AZT, DPT, HCI, HCT, HCTZ, MTX, TAC, "Nitro" drip, Norflox,

Back 14

Never abbreviate drug names~ Spell them out...

Front 15

per os

Back 15

p.o., by mouth, or orally

Front 16

qn

Back 16

nightly

Front 17

qhs

Back 17

nightly

Front 18

q6PM, etc

Back 18

6 p.m. nightly

Front 19

x3d

Back 19

for three days

Front 20

BT

Back 20

at bedtime

Front 21

ss (insulin)
or
½ (apothecary)

Back 21

sliding scale
or
one-half
or
½

Front 22

< and >

Back 22

greater than
and
less than

Front 23

/ (slash mark)

Back 23

do not use a slash mark to separate doses; use "per"