Vitals & Assessment Abbreviations

This list collects 93 vitals & assessment abbreviations — vital signs and bedside assessment shorthand used in observation charts and examinations. Every entry shows the full form and a plain-English meaning. One abbreviation can appear in several specialty lists when it is genuinely used in more than one area, and abbreviations with more than one common meaning get a row for each meaning. Terms flagged ⚠ Error-prone are on recognised error-prone lists: write them out in full wherever possible.

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Abbreviation	Full form	What it means	Used in
4AT	4 A's test	Rapid delirium and cognition screening tool	Psychiatry Neurology Vitals & Assessment
A&O	alert and oriented	Awake and aware of person, place and time	Vitals & Assessment Nursing
A&P	auscultation and percussion	Listening to and tapping the body during examination	Vitals & Assessment
ABPI	ankle-brachial pressure index	Ratio comparing blood pressure at ankle and arm	Cardiology Vitals & Assessment
ACT	Asthma Control Test	Asthma control questionnaire	Respiratory Vitals & Assessment Pediatrics
Allen test	Allen's test	Hand test of collateral circulation before arterial sampling	Vitals & Assessment Respiratory
APGAR	Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration	Newborn health score at one and five minutes	Obstetrics & Gynecology Pediatrics Vitals & Assessment
ASA class	American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status	Anesthesia fitness classification	Surgery Vitals & Assessment
BP	blood pressure	Pressure of blood against artery walls	Cardiology Vitals & Assessment
BP cuff	blood pressure cuff	Inflatable band used to measure blood pressure	Vitals & Assessment
BPI	Brief Pain Inventory	Questionnaire measuring pain severity and interference	Vitals & Assessment General Medical
BPM	beats per minute	Number of heartbeats in one minute	Vitals & Assessment Cardiology
BS	bowel sounds	Sounds made by movement in the intestines	Vitals & Assessment Gastroenterology
BS	breath sounds	Sounds heard when listening to the lungs	Vitals & Assessment Respiratory
C	Celsius	Temperature scale where water freezes at zero degrees	Vitals & Assessment
CAT score	COPD Assessment Test	Symptom questionnaire for COPD	Respiratory Vitals & Assessment
CCS class	Canadian Cardiovascular Society angina class	Angina severity grading	Cardiology Vitals & Assessment
CF	counting fingers	Vision level where only counting fingers is possible	General Medical Vitals & Assessment
CFS	Clinical Frailty Scale	Score grading fitness and frailty in older people	General Medical Vitals & Assessment
CPOT	Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool	Pain score for patients unable to self-report	Emergency & Critical Care Nursing Vitals & Assessment
CRIES	Crying Requires oxygen Increased vital signs Expression Sleeplessness	Neonatal pain score	Pediatrics Nursing Vitals & Assessment
CRT	capillary refill time	Time for colour to return after pressing the nail bed	Vitals & Assessment Emergency & Critical Care
CVS	cardiovascular system	The heart and blood vessels, as in examination	Cardiology Vitals & Assessment
DBP	diastolic blood pressure	Bottom blood pressure number, when the heart rests	Cardiology Vitals & Assessment
DN4	Douleur Neuropathique 4	Screening questionnaire for nerve pain	Neurology Vitals & Assessment
DRE	digital rectal examination	Examination of the prostate and rectum with a gloved finger	Renal & Nephrology Vitals & Assessment
DTR	deep tendon reflex	Reflex tested by tapping a tendon	Neurology Vitals & Assessment
DTR grade	deep tendon reflex grade	Reflex grading from 0 to 4+	Neurology Vitals & Assessment
DVPRS	Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale	Military pain scale with functional anchors	Vitals & Assessment Nursing
Edema grading	oedema grading	Scale grading swelling by depth of pitting	Vitals & Assessment Renal & Nephrology Cardiology
EHRA	European Heart Rhythm Association score	Symptom score for atrial fibrillation	Cardiology Vitals & Assessment
EOM	extraocular movements	Movements of the eyes in all directions	General Medical Vitals & Assessment Neurology
ESS score	Epworth sleepiness scale	A questionnaire scoring daytime sleepiness	Neurology Vitals & Assessment Respiratory
F	Fahrenheit	Temperature scale commonly used in the United States	Vitals & Assessment
FABER	flexion abduction external rotation (Patrick test)	Hip and sacroiliac pain test	Musculoskeletal Vitals & Assessment
FADIR	flexion adduction internal rotation test	Hip impingement test	Musculoskeletal Vitals & Assessment
FeverPAIN	FeverPAIN score	Sore throat antibiotic decision score	Infectious Disease Vitals & Assessment
FHR	fetal heart rate	Heart rate of a baby before birth	Obstetrics & Gynecology Vitals & Assessment
FLACC	Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability scale	Pain score for young children and non-verbal patients	Vitals & Assessment Pediatrics
FOUR score	Full Outline of UnResponsiveness score	Coma score usable in intubated patients	Neurology Emergency & Critical Care Vitals & Assessment
FRAIL	FRAIL scale	Simple frailty screening scale	General Medical Vitals & Assessment Nursing
GCS eye	Glasgow Coma Scale eye component	Eye-opening part of the coma score	Neurology Emergency & Critical Care Vitals & Assessment
GCS motor	Glasgow Coma Scale motor component	Movement part of the coma score	Neurology Emergency & Critical Care Vitals & Assessment
GCS verbal	Glasgow Coma Scale verbal component	Speech part of the coma score	Neurology Emergency & Critical Care Vitals & Assessment
HC	head circumference	Measurement around the largest part of the head	Pediatrics Vitals & Assessment
HEART score	HEART score (chest pain)	Emergency chest pain risk score	Cardiology Emergency & Critical Care Vitals & Assessment
HM	hand motion	Vision level detecting only hand movement	General Medical Vitals & Assessment
HR	heart rate	Number of heartbeats per minute	Cardiology Vitals & Assessment
Ht	height	How tall a patient is	Vitals & Assessment
IOP	intraocular pressure	Pressure inside the eye	General Medical Vitals & Assessment
LANSS	Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs	Neuropathic pain identification scale	Neurology Vitals & Assessment
LOC	level of consciousness	How awake and responsive a person is	Vitals & Assessment Neurology
LP	light perception	Vision level detecting only light	General Medical Vitals & Assessment
MAP	mean arterial pressure	Average pressure in the arteries during one heartbeat cycle	Cardiology Vitals & Assessment
MEWS	Modified Early Warning Score	Score flagging deteriorating ward patients	Emergency & Critical Care Vitals & Assessment Nursing
mmHg	millimeters of mercury	Unit used to measure blood pressure	Vitals & Assessment Laboratory
MMSE	Mini-Mental State Examination	Bedside test of memory and thinking	Neurology Psychiatry Vitals & Assessment
MMT	manual muscle testing	Grading of muscle strength by hand	Musculoskeletal Vitals & Assessment
MPQ	McGill Pain Questionnaire	Detailed pain quality questionnaire	Vitals & Assessment General Medical
NEWS	National Early Warning Score	Score flagging deteriorating ward patients	Emergency & Critical Care Vitals & Assessment Nursing
NEWS2	National Early Warning Score 2	Updated score flagging deteriorating ward patients	Emergency & Critical Care Vitals & Assessment Nursing
NRS	numeric rating scale	Zero-to-ten scale rating a symptom such as pain	Vitals & Assessment
Obs chart	observation chart	Chart recording vital signs over time	Nursing Vitals & Assessment
OPQRST	onset, provocation, quality, radiation, severity, time	Pain history mnemonic used in assessment	Emergency & Critical Care Vitals & Assessment
P	pulse	Heartbeat felt at an artery, counted per minute	Vitals & Assessment
painDETECT	painDETECT questionnaire	Neuropathic pain screening tool	Neurology Vitals & Assessment
PEARL	pupils equal and reactive to light	Basic pupil examination finding	Neurology General Medical Vitals & Assessment
PEG scale	pain enjoyment general activity scale	Three-item chronic pain impact scale	Vitals & Assessment General Medical
PERLA	pupils equal and reactive to light and accommodation	Normal pupil response check during eye examination	Vitals & Assessment Neurology
PERRL	pupils equal, round, reactive to light	Normal pupil size, shape and light response finding	Neurology Vitals & Assessment
PERRLA	pupils equal, round, reactive to light and accommodation	Normal pupil response check during eye examination	Vitals & Assessment Neurology
PEWS	Pediatric Early Warning Score	Child deterioration warning score	Pediatrics Emergency & Critical Care Vitals & Assessment Nursing
Pulse ox	pulse oximeter	Clip device measuring blood oxygen saturation	Vitals & Assessment Respiratory
R	respirations	Breaths, counted per minute	Vitals & Assessment Respiratory
RR	respiratory rate	Number of breaths per minute	Respiratory Vitals & Assessment
SAS	Riker Sedation-Agitation Scale	Sedation score for ICU patients	Emergency & Critical Care Vitals & Assessment
SBP	systolic blood pressure	Top blood pressure number, when the heart beats	Cardiology Vitals & Assessment
SLR	straight leg raise (test)	Nerve root tension sign in back pain	Musculoskeletal Neurology Vitals & Assessment
SpO2	peripheral oxygen saturation	Oxygen level in blood measured by a finger sensor	Respiratory Vitals & Assessment
STOP-Bang	STOP-Bang questionnaire	Sleep apnoea screening tool, from its question initials	Respiratory Vitals & Assessment
STRATIFY	STRATIFY fall risk tool	Fall prediction tool for older inpatients	Nursing Vitals & Assessment
T	temperature	How hot or cold the body is	Vitals & Assessment
TBI	toe-brachial index	Ratio comparing blood pressure at toe and arm	Cardiology Vitals & Assessment
Timed Up and Go	Timed Up and Go test	Timed mobility and fall risk test	Nursing Vitals & Assessment Musculoskeletal
TPR	temperature, pulse, respirations	Basic set of vital sign measurements	Vitals & Assessment Nursing
TUG	Timed Up and Go (abbreviation)	Timed stand-walk-turn mobility test	Vitals & Assessment Musculoskeletal Nursing
VA	visual acuity	Sharpness of vision measured on a chart	General Medical Vitals & Assessment
VAS	visual analogue scale	Line scale marking symptom severity	Vitals & Assessment
VAS pain	visual analog scale (pain)	Line-marking pain intensity measure	Vitals & Assessment Nursing
VF	visual field	Total area seen while looking straight ahead	General Medical Vitals & Assessment
VRS	verbal rating scale (pain)	Word-based pain intensity scale	Vitals & Assessment Nursing
VS	vital signs	Temperature, pulse, respirations and blood pressure	Vitals & Assessment
Wt	weight	How heavy a patient is	Vitals & Assessment

Educational reference only. This guide is for learning and quick reference. Abbreviations vary between hospitals, countries and specialties, and some are discouraged because they can be misread. Always write and interpret orders using your own institution’s approved abbreviation list, and check anything unclear with the prescriber or your local policy.

Vitals & Assessment Abbreviations — MedicalVideos.com

4AT — 4 A's test

A&O — alert and oriented

A&P — auscultation and percussion

ABPI — ankle-brachial pressure index

ACT — Asthma Control Test

Allen test — Allen's test

APGAR — Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, Respiration

ASA class — American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status

BP — blood pressure

BP cuff — blood pressure cuff

BPI — Brief Pain Inventory

BPM — beats per minute

BS — bowel sounds

BS — breath sounds

C — Celsius

CAT score — COPD Assessment Test

CCS class — Canadian Cardiovascular Society angina class

CF — counting fingers

CFS — Clinical Frailty Scale

CPOT — Critical-Care Pain Observation Tool

CRIES — Crying Requires oxygen Increased vital signs Expression Sleeplessness

CRT — capillary refill time

CVS — cardiovascular system

DBP — diastolic blood pressure

DN4 — Douleur Neuropathique 4

DRE — digital rectal examination

DTR — deep tendon reflex

DTR grade — deep tendon reflex grade

DVPRS — Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale

Edema grading — oedema grading

EHRA — European Heart Rhythm Association score

EOM — extraocular movements

ESS score — Epworth sleepiness scale

F — Fahrenheit

FABER — flexion abduction external rotation (Patrick test)

FADIR — flexion adduction internal rotation test

FeverPAIN — FeverPAIN score

FHR — fetal heart rate

FLACC — Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability scale

FOUR score — Full Outline of UnResponsiveness score

FRAIL — FRAIL scale

GCS eye — Glasgow Coma Scale eye component

GCS motor — Glasgow Coma Scale motor component

GCS verbal — Glasgow Coma Scale verbal component

HC — head circumference

HEART score — HEART score (chest pain)

HM — hand motion

HR — heart rate

Ht — height

IOP — intraocular pressure

LANSS — Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs

LOC — level of consciousness

LP — light perception

MAP — mean arterial pressure

MEWS — Modified Early Warning Score

mmHg — millimeters of mercury

MMSE — Mini-Mental State Examination

MMT — manual muscle testing

MPQ — McGill Pain Questionnaire

NEWS — National Early Warning Score

NEWS2 — National Early Warning Score 2

NRS — numeric rating scale

Obs chart — observation chart

OPQRST — onset, provocation, quality, radiation, severity, time

P — pulse

painDETECT — painDETECT questionnaire

PEARL — pupils equal and reactive to light

PEG scale — pain enjoyment general activity scale

PERLA — pupils equal and reactive to light and accommodation

PERRL — pupils equal, round, reactive to light

PERRLA — pupils equal, round, reactive to light and accommodation

PEWS — Pediatric Early Warning Score

Pulse ox — pulse oximeter

R — respirations

RR — respiratory rate

SAS — Riker Sedation-Agitation Scale

SBP — systolic blood pressure

SLR — straight leg raise (test)

SpO2 — peripheral oxygen saturation

STOP-Bang — STOP-Bang questionnaire

STRATIFY — STRATIFY fall risk tool

T — temperature

TBI — toe-brachial index

Timed Up and Go — Timed Up and Go test

TPR — temperature, pulse, respirations

TUG — Timed Up and Go (abbreviation)

VA — visual acuity

VAS — visual analogue scale

VAS pain — visual analog scale (pain)

VF — visual field

VRS — verbal rating scale (pain)

VS — vital signs

Wt — weight

Printed from https://www.medicalvideos.com/medical-abbreviations/vitals-assessment/ · Full searchable guide: https://www.medicalvideos.com/medical-abbreviations/ · Educational reference only — verify against your institution's approved list.

Vitals & Assessment Abbreviations

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