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Dangerous Abbreviations and Dosage Designations Not to Use

Inova Health System Do NOT Use the Following Dangerous Abbreviations and Dosage Designations
Abbreviations Not to Use	Intended Meaning	Misinterpretation	Correct Term
U	Units	Looks like "0", zero	units
IU	International Units	Misread as IV (intravenous)	Units
µg	Microgram	Mistaken for "mg"	mcg
qod/QOD	Every other day	Misinterpreted as "q.d." (daily) or "q.i.d." (four times daily) if the "o" is poorly written	Every other day
QID/qid	Four times a day	"I, i" can be mistaken for "o" if poorly written	Four times a day
q.d.	Daily	Looks like qid	Daily
AU, AS or AD	Each ear, Left ear, Right ear	Mistaken for OU	Each ear, left ear or right ear
MS	Morphine Sulfate	Misinterpreted as Magnesium Sulfate	Morphine
MSO4	Morphine Sulfate	Misinterpreted as Magnesium Sulfate	Morphine
MgSO4	Magnesium Sulfate	Misinterpreted as Morphine Sulfate	Magnesium
AZT	Zidovudine (Retrovir)	Misinterpreted as Azathioprine	Zidovudine
Nitro drip	Nitroglycerin infusion	Misinterpreted as nitroprusside infusion	Nitroglycerin
Abbreviations Not to Use	Intended Meaning	Misinterpretation	Correct Term

Inova Loudoun Hospital Do Not Use the Following Abbreviations/Symbols
Abbreviations Not to Use	Intended Meaning	Misinterpretation	Correct Term
U, u	Units	Mistaken for zero or mistaken for cc	Write out “unit(s)”
IU	International Units	Mistaken for IV	Write out “international unit(s)”
ug or µg	Micrograms	Mistaken for zero or mg	Use “mcg”
Q.D. Q.O.D.	Once daily Every other day	Mistaken for each other. The period after the Q can be mistaken for an “I” and “O” can be mistaken for “I”	Write “daily” and “every other day”
D as in “x3d”	Day or Dose	Can be interpreted as either day or dose causing medications to be given either too often or not enough	Write out “day” or “dose”
Absence of zero leading decimal	0.2	Can lead to 10-fold dosing error when decimal is missed (.2 could be mistaken for 2)	Always use zero before a decimal when dose is less than whole unit
Trailing zero after decimal	2	Can lead to 10-fold dosing error (2.0 could be mistaken for 20)	Never use trailing zero
MS MSO4	Morphine Sulfate	Can be mistaken for MgSO4 (magnesium sulfate)	Write out the drug name
MgSO4	Magnesium sulfate	Can be mistaken for MS04 (morphine sulfate)	Write out the drug name
MTX	Methotrexate or Mitoxantrone	One can be mistaken for the other	Write out the drug name
TAC	Triamcinolone or Tetracaine, adrenaline, cocaine solution	One can be mistaken for the other	Write out the drug name
Amio	Amiodarone	Can be mistaken for aminophyllin	Write out the drug name
Amino	Aminophyllin	Can be mistaken for amiodarone	Write out the drug name
Abbreviations Not to Use	Intended Meaning	Misinterpretation	Correct Term
Medical Orders Containing Prohibited Abbreviations Will Not be Filled Until Clarified.