There are many pharmacy prescription abbreviations used in the clinical settings by the physician or any qualified healthcare giver while writing a prescription to the pharmacist. A medical prescription is a written direction by the physician to the pharmacist to dispense medications. It specifies the medicine, the dose, delivery route, frequency, regimen, and purpose of medication.
It also shows the form of medication such as oral tablets, liquid, syrup, emulsion, infusion, inhalation, suspension, topical ointments, creams.
The term prescription is from the Latin word recipe , meaning “take”. It is abbreviated ℞ (or Rx).
Most of the pharmacy prescription abbreviations are abbreviated Latin words, and words from other languages like English, Roman, Greek. The abbreviations may use lower case or upper case alphabets.
It is important to note that due to ambiguity, some pharmacy prescription abbreviations are rarely used. They may mean two things or may be misinterpreted. Examples are:
h.s . — half strength or “hour of sleep”d/c – can mean “discontinue” or “discharge”bt – mean “bedtime” but can be misread as “bid” or twice dailyμg – meant “microgram” but mistaken for “mg”
Rx Pharmacy Prescription Abbreviations (A-Z)
A
Prescription Abbreviations Latin word Meaning aa ana of each AAA apply to affected area ABX antibiotic ad ad up to a.c. ante cibum before food ACEI angiotensin converting enzyme ACh anticholinergic AChEI acetylcholinesterase inhibitor a.d. auris dextra right ear ad lib. ad libitum use as much as one desires; admov. admove apply agit agita stir/shake alt. h. alternis horis every other hour a.m. ante meridiem morning, before noon amp ampoule amt amount applic. apply aq., or aqua aqua water a.l., a.s. auris laeva, auris left ear APAP acetaminophen ART antiretroviral therapy ARV antiretroviral ASA acetylsalicylic acid ASx asymptomatic A.T.C. around the clock a.u. auris utraque or aures unitas both ears aurist. ear drops
B
Prescription Abbreviations Latin words Meaning BB beta-blocker bib. bibe drink bis bis twice b.d./b.i.d. bis in die twice daily b.d.s, bds, BDS bis die sumendum 2 times a day B.M. bowel movement bol. bolus as a large single dose (usually BMI body mass index BZ or BZD benzodiazepine BP blood pressure B.P. British Pharmacopoeia B.S. blood sugar B.S.A body surface areas BUCC bucca inside cheek BPH benign prostatic hyperplasia BUN blood urea nitrogen
C
Prescription Abbreviations Latin words Meaning cap., caps capsula capsule calid. warm c cum with (usually written with a bar c cibos with food cc cum cibos with food, (can also mean cubic CCB calcium channel blocker COC combined oral contraceptive cf with food ChewT chewable tablet collut. mouthwash collyr. eye lotion cm centimeter CNS central nervous system COC combined oral contraceptive comp. compound COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COX cyclooxygenase enzyme CrCl creatinine clearance cr., crm cream conc. concentrated
D
Prescription Abbreviations Latin words Meaning d. dies day D5W dextrose 5% solution, also written D5 W D5NS dextrose 5% in normal saline D.A.W. dispense as written DERM dermatologic dc, D/C, disc discontinue dest. distilled dieb. alt. diebus alternis every other day dil. dilute disp. dispense div. divide DHT dihydrotestosterone DI drug interaction DOC drug of choice dL deciliter dx disease/diagnosis dur. duration dysfx dysfunction dol.urg when the pain is severe dolent.part. to the afflicted part dos. dose DR delayed-release DS double strength d.t.d dentur tales doses give of such doses D.W. distilled water
E
Prescription Abbreviations Latin words Meaning elix. elixir e.m.p. ex modo prescripto as directed emuls. emulsion EOD every other day EC enteric-coated ER; XR extended-release et et and extemp. extemporaneously dispensed ext. extract ex aq in water
F
Prescription Abbreviations Latin words Meaning fl., fld fluid fort. strong ft. fiat make; let it be made f/u follow-up FXD for 10 days (X is Roman numeral for 10)
G
Prescription Abbreviations Latin words Meaning g gram gal gallon garg. gargle gr grain gtt., gtts gutta(e) drop(s)
H
Prescription Abbreviations Latin words Meaning H hypodermic HCT; HCTZ hydrochlorothiazide h, hr hora hour ht. height hx. history h.s. hora somni at bedtime 5HT serotonin
I
Prescription abbreviations Latin words Meaning ii duos doses two tablets iii trēs doses three tablets i.c between meals ID intradermal IM intramuscular injection IN intranasal IFNB interferon beta Ig immunoglobulin inh. inhalation inf. infusion inj. injectio injection IP intraperitoneal IR immediate-release IU international unit IV intravenous IVP intravenous push IVPB intravenous piggyback
K
Prescription abbreviations Meaning kg kilogram K potassium
L
Prescription abbreviations Latin words Meaning L liter L.A.S. label as such lb libra pound (measurement) LCD coal tar solution lin linimentum liniment liq liquor solution, liquid lot. lotion
M
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning M. misce mix m meter m, min minimum a minimum max. maximum mcg, μg microgram MDI metered dose inhaler MDP Medrol Dosepak Pre-dosed packaging of methylprednisolone m.d. as directed m.d.u. more dicto utendus to be used as directed mEq milliequivalent mg milligram mm millimeter mist. mistura mix mitte mitte send mL millilitre
N
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning narist. nasal drops neb. nebula nebulizer NG nasogastric N.M.T. not more than nocte, or n nocte at night non rep. non repetatur no repeats NP or n.p. proper name n.p.o., npo, NPO nil per os nothing by mouth / not by oral administration NS normal saline (0.9%) NSAID Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, a drug class. NNRTI non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor 1/2NS half normal saline (0.45%) N.T.E. not to exceed
O
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning o.alt.hor. every other hour o_2 both eyes, sometimes written as o2 oculent. eye ointment o.d., od, OD oculus dexter right eye o.d. omne in die once daily o.d. every night o.m. every morning o.n. every night oint. ointment o.s., os, OS oculus sinister left eye ODT oral disintegrating tablet OTC over the counter o.u. oculus uterque both eyes oz ounce
P
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning PA prior authorization p.aeq. equal parts p.a. to the affected part part. dolent. to the painful part past. paste per per by or through p.c. post cibum after meals p.m., pm, PM post meridiem evening or afternoon prn pro re nata as needed p.o. per os by mouth or orally PPI proton-pump inihibitor p.r., pr, PR by rectum ProD prodrug pt pint Pt(s) patient(s) pulv. pulvis powder p.v. per vaginam vaginally
Q
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning q quaque every q.1.h., q1h quaque hora every hour q.2.h., q2h quaque secunda hora every 2 hours q.4.h., q4h quaque quarta hora every 4 hours q.6.h., q6h quaque sexta hora every 6 hours q.8.h., q8h quaque octava hora every 8 hours q.a.d. quoque alternis die every other day q.a.m., qAM, qam quaque die ante meridiem every day before noon q.d.s., qds, QDS quater die sumendus four times a day q.p.m., qPM, qpm quaque die post meridiem every day after noon q.h., qh quaque hora every hour q.h.s., qhs quaque hora somni every night at bedtime q.1h quaque 1 hora every 1 hour; (can replace “1” q.d., qd quaque die every day q.i.d. , qid quater in die four times a day q.o.d., qod every other day qqh quater quaque hora every four hours q.s., qs quantum sufficiat a sufficient quantity qt quart qty. quantity QWK, qw quaque week every week
R
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning R rectal rec recommended rep., rept. repetatur repeats RL, R/L Ringer’s lactate R/O rule out Rx, Rx, ℞ recipere prescription rxn reaction
S
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning s sine without (usually written with a s.a. secundum artum use your judgement SC, subc, subcut, subq, SQ subcutaneous sig., S. signa let it be labeled, direction SL sublingually, under the tongue SOB shortness of breath sol solutio solution s.o.s., si op. sit si opus sit if there is a need ss semis one half SSRI selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, a class of drugs. stat statim immediately supp suppositorium suppository susp suspension SR sustained release syr syrupus syrup syr syringe
T
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning tab. tabella tablet TAD take as directed tal., t talus such tbsp tablespoon troche trochiscus lozenge tsp teaspoon t.i.d., tid, TID ter in die three times a day t.d.s., tds, TDS ter die sumendum three times a day t.i.w. three times a week Tdap tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis top. topical T.P.N. total parenteral nutrition tr, tinc., tinct. tincture trit. or triturate serial dilution or mixing ingredients tx. treatment
U
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning U unit u.a. as before u.d., ut. dict., or ut. direct ut dictum as directed ung. unguentum ointment U.S.P. United States Pharmacopoeia
V
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning vag vaginally
W
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning w with wt. weight w/f with food w/o without WSP white soft paraffin
X
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning X times
Y
Abbreviations Latin words Meaning Y.O years old YSP yellow soft paraffin
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