Medical Mnemonics Flashcards
SAMPLE
is used for medical assessment
Signs and Symptoms
Allergies
Medications
Past Medical History
Last oral intake
Events leading up to injury
OPQRST
Used for pain assessment, chief complaint:
Onset
Provocation
Quality
Radiation
Severity
Time
PASTE
Used for respiratory assessment:
Provoking Factors
Associated Pain
Sputum
Time of Onset, Temperature
Exacerbation, Exercise
AVPU
Used for level of responsiveness
Alert
Verbal
Painful
Unresponsive
DCAP BTLS
DCAP BTLS TIC
DCAP BTLS PMS
An assessment tool used for patients with traumatic injuries to quickly find abnormalities.
Deformities
Contusions
Abrasions
Punctures
Burns
Tenderness
Lacerations
Swelling
Tenderness
Instability
Crepitation
PMS is used for assessment of the extremities after a trauma:
Pulse
Motor
Sensory
PERRLA
An eye exam used for pupillary assessment and neurological examination.
Pupils
Equal
Round &
Reactive to
Light &
Accommodation
START
START RPM
A specific system set up for EMS to triage a scene with a large number of patients. The START system is designed to be a very rapid assessment that categorizes treatment priority of patients in under a minute for rescuers who will come later and provide treatment. START RPM is a common acronym because RPM is the method the system uses for triage assessment at mass casualty incidents.
Simple
Triage
And
Rapid
Treatment
Respirations
Perfusions
Mental Status
AEIOU TIPS
AEIOU TIPS is a mnemonic used by healthcare workers to assess patients with an altered mental status. The AEIOU TIPS EMT tool is very useful for EMS to try and figure out what the cause of their patients altered level of consciousness (ALOC) is.
Alcohol
Epilepsy
Insulin (hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia)
Overdose/Oxygen
Uremia/ Underdose (Not medication compliant)
Trauma/Thermal
Infection (Sepsis)
Psychiatric/Poison
Stroke/Shock
SLUDGE
The SLUDGE mnemonic is also called Sludge Syndrome and describes the signs and symptoms of Organophosphate poisoning and exposure to nerve agents. SLUDGE describes the cholinergic effects in the body which cause the overstimulation commonly seen in a cholinergic crisis.
Salivation
Lacrimation
Urination
Defecation
Gastro-intestinal Distress
Emesis
APGAR
The APGAR test is a rapid head to toe newborn assessment tool. EMTs take the newborn’s APGAR score at one minute and five minutes after delivery to quickly determine if any treatments need to be done.
Activity
Pulse
Grimace
Appearance
Respirations
ABCs
Airway
Breathing
Circulation
ECF
Extracellular fluid
The fluid in a multicellular organism’s body that’s not contained within cells. It makes up about one-third of the body’s total water content and is found in blood, lymph, and other tissues. The main component of ECF is interstitial fluid, which surrounds cells and contains substances like amino acids, sugars, and hormones.
ISF
Interstitial fluid
The medical term interstitial means relating to the space between cells, tissues, or organs in the body. The word has a specific meaning depending on the context, and here are some examples of its use in medicine:
Interstitial lung disease (ILD)
A group of disorders that cause scarring of the tissue between the air sacs of the lungs. ILD can be caused by an injury to the lungs that triggers an abnormal healing response. This can lead to thickened and scarred tissue around the air sacs, making it difficult to breathe and causing a chronic cough.
Interstitial cystitis
A type of inflammation of the bladder wall
Interstitial pneumonia
Inflammation of the lung that involves the mesh of lung tissue, rather than the air spaces
Interstitial fluid
Fluid found in the spaces around cells, which comes from substances that leak out of blood capillaries
ISF
Interstitial fluid
The medical term interstitial means relating to the space between cells, tissues, or organs in the body. The word has a specific meaning depending on the context, and here are some examples of its use in medicine:
Interstitial lung disease (ILD)
A group of disorders that cause scarring of the tissue between the air sacs of the lungs. ILD can be caused by an injury to the lungs that triggers an abnormal healing response. This can lead to thickened and scarred tissue around the air sacs, making it difficult to breathe and causing a chronic cough.
Interstitial cystitis
A type of inflammation of the bladder wall
Interstitial pneumonia
Inflammation of the lung that involves the mesh of lung tissue, rather than the air spaces
Interstitial fluid
Fluid found in the spaces around cells, which comes from substances that leak out of blood capillaries
PMS
Pulse
Motor
Sensory
