Ch 1, Lesson 2: Common Medical Acronyms & Symbols

Question 1

What do these abbreviations stand for:
HR, RR, BP, BMI, NKDA, DX

Answer 1

HR - Heart Rate
RR - Respiratory Rate
BP - Blood Pressure
BMI - Body Mass Index
NKDA - No Known Drug Allergies
DX - Diagnosis

Question 2

What does Rx stand for?

Answer 2

Rx is an abbreviation for prescription.

Question 3

What do these dosing instruction abbreviations stand for?
PO, QD, BID, TID, QID, PRN
(Latin meaning in italics)

Answer 3

PO - by mouth per os
QD - once daily quaque die
BID - twice daily bis in die
TID - three times daily ter in die
QID - four times daily quater in die
PRN - as needed pro re nata

Question 4

Practice Question:
A doctor has written these orders for a prescription. Determine the instructions through the abbreviations and information provided: Augmentin 875 mg, #20, 1 po BID for 10 days.

Answer 4

Take 1 Augmentin 875 mg pill by mouth twice daily for 10 days.