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Common abbreviations in the medical lingo mean different things to
different people. DNA is a case point. Since Watson and Crick’s discovery
of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid 50 years ago, the much
celebrated abbreviation is now common parlance the world over, so much so
that it is often forgotten what it originally stood for. However, to busy
clinicians in outpatient clinics a patient’s DNA (‘did not attend’) offers
a quiet moment to reflect on genes and punctuality!
NAD (‘nothing abnormal detected’ or ‘no appreciable disease’) is another,
as the following anecdote illustrates. In one hospital where I worked
several years ago, it was standard practice to perform rigid sigmoidoscopy
(‘sigi’) prior to requesting barium enemas, to exclude lower rectal
lesions that would otherwise be missed on imaging. One harassed junior
doctor sent off a request on a patient with altered bowel habit, stating
“sigi NAD” on the form. The radiologists reported a large polypoid lesion
a finger length from the anal margin, with the terse comment, “Does NAD
mean ‘not actually done’?”
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
14 June 2003
Akheel A Syed
Specialist Registrar & Clinical Research Associate
Medical abbreviations
Common abbreviations in the medical lingo mean different things to
different people. DNA is a case point. Since Watson and Crick’s discovery
of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid 50 years ago, the much
celebrated abbreviation is now common parlance the world over, so much so
that it is often forgotten what it originally stood for. However, to busy
clinicians in outpatient clinics a patient’s DNA (‘did not attend’) offers
a quiet moment to reflect on genes and punctuality!
NAD (‘nothing abnormal detected’ or ‘no appreciable disease’) is another,
as the following anecdote illustrates. In one hospital where I worked
several years ago, it was standard practice to perform rigid sigmoidoscopy
(‘sigi’) prior to requesting barium enemas, to exclude lower rectal
lesions that would otherwise be missed on imaging. One harassed junior
doctor sent off a request on a patient with altered bowel habit, stating
“sigi NAD” on the form. The radiologists reported a large polypoid lesion
a finger length from the anal margin, with the terse comment, “Does NAD
mean ‘not actually done’?”
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests