77 Nursing Abbreviations Cheat Sheet
ABG - Arterial blood gas
ABX - Antibiotics
a.c. - Before meals
ADH - Antidiuretic hormone
aeb - As evidenced by
AKI - Acute kidney injury
AMA - Against medical advice
b.i.d. - Twice a day
BM - Bowel movement
BP - Blood pressure
BPM - Beats per minute
BUN - Blood urea nitrogen
c̄ ("c" with a bar over it) - With
CABG - Coronary artery bypass graft
CAD - Coronary artery disease
CBC - Complete blood count
CHF - Congestive heart failure
CKD - Chronic kidney disease
CNS - Central nervous system
c/o - Complains of
CO - Cardiac output
COPD - Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder
CPK - Creatine phosphokinase
CSF - Cerebrospinal fluid
CVA - Cerebrovascular accident (stroke)
CVP - Central venous pressure
d/c - Discontinue/discharge
DM - Diabetes mellitus
Dx - Diagnosis
EC - Enteric coated
ECG/EKG- Electrocardiogram
EEG- Electroencephalogram
GFR - Glomerular filtration rate
77 Nursing Abbreviations Cheat Sheet
Hgb- Hemoglobin
HR- Heart rate
h.s. - Before bed
HTN - Hypertension
Hx- History
ICP- Intracranial pressure
IM- Intramuscular
IV- Intravenous
IVPB- Intravenous piggyback
LLQ - Left lower quadrant
LMP - Last menstrual period
LOC- Level of consciousness
LR - Lactated ringers
LUQ - Left upper quadrant
MI- Myocardial infarction (heart attack)
NC- Nasal cannula
NG - Nasogastric
NKA or NKDA- "No known allergies" or "no known drug allergies"
NPO- Nothing by mouth
NS - Normal saline
N/V- Nausea/vomiting
OTC- Over the counter
PO- By mouth
POC - Plan of care
PRN - As needed or when necessary
PT - Prothrombin time or physical therapy
PTT - Partial thromboplastin time
Q- Every
RBC - Red blood cell
RLQ - Right lower quadrant
R/O - Rule out
ROM - Range of motion
R/T - related to
77 Nursing Abbreviations Cheat Sheet
RUQ - Right upper quadrant
Rx - Prescription
SC - Subcutaneous
SR- Sustained release
S/S - Signs and symptoms
Stat - Immediately
Sx - Symptoms
t.i.d. - 3 times a day
UTI - Urinary tract infection
VS - vital signs
WBC - White blood count
Other abbreviations I want to remember:
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LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This cheat sheet is intended for informational purposes only. This is not medical
advice and errors may occur. Never treat a patient or make a nursing or medical decision based on the
information provided on this study guide. Never practice nursing or medicine unless you have a proper
license to do so.
"Do Not Use" List Of Abbreviations
The Joint Commission® has put together a list of medical abbreviations that should not be
used. These abbreviations are likely to be mixed up with other abbreviations and cause
confusion between patient care providers.
Do not use: U or u
Rationale: It can be confused with "0," "4," or "cc"
What to use instead: Write out "unit" instead
Do not use: IU
Rationale: It can be confused with "IV" or "10"
What to use instead: Write out "International Unit" instead
Do not use: Q.D., QD, q.d., qd
Rationale: They can be confused with each other or with "00" or "I"
What to use instead: Write out "daily" instead
Do not use: Q.O.D., QOD, q.o.d., qod
Rationale: They can be confused with each other or with "00" or "I"
What to use instead: Write out "every other day" instead
Do not use: MS
Rationale: It can mean either magnesium sulfate or morphine sulfate
What to use instead: Write out "magnesium sulfate" or "morphine sulfate"
Do not use: MSO4, MgSO4
Rationale: They can be confused with each other
What to use instead: Write out "magnesium sulfate"
Do not use: Training zeros when writing numbers with decimals
Rationale: They can be confused with adding zeros to a number (ex. "1.0" vs "10")
What to use instead: Do not include a trailing zero (ex. write "1" instead of "1.0")
Do not use: Leading zero is missing when writing numbers with decimals
Rationale: They can be confused with a different number (ex. ".2" vs "2")
What to use instead: Always use a leading zero (ex. write "0.2" instead of ".2")
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This cheat sheet is intended for informational purposes only. This is not medical
advice and errors may occur. Never treat a patient or make a nursing or medical decision based on the
information provided on this study guide. Never practice nursing or medicine unless you have a proper
license to do so.
