Dictionary

Abbreviations

Abbreviations nurses read and write, with the ones never to use.

EDAn abbreviation that most often means emergency department; it can also mean erectile dysfunction.

EDDEstimated date of delivery: the expected due date of a pregnancy.

EGDEsophagogastroduodenoscopy: a test using a flexible scope through the mouth to look at the esophagus, stomach and start of the small intestine.

ELISAEnzyme-linked immunosorbent assay: a lab method that finds and measures antibodies or antigens using a color change.

EMTALAEmergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act: a 1986 US law requiring emergency departments to screen and stabilize anyone who comes in.

EPAEnvironmental Protection Agency: the US agency that registers disinfectants; also eicosapentaenoic acid, an omega-3 fat.

ERAn abbreviation with more than one meaning: emergency room, or extended-release when written after a drug name.

every hourA timing direction meaning once in each 60 minutes, abbreviated "qh" from the Latin quaque hora.