Abbreviations

Sinoatrial node: a small cluster of cells in the right atrium that starts each heartbeat.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: the US government agency for mental health and substance use services.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome: a lung infection caused by a coronavirus, first seen in 2002–2003.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus: the virus that caused the SARS outbreak of 2002–2004.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2: the virus that causes COVID-19.

A four-part way to report about a client: situation, background, assessment and recommendation.

Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment: a quick method for finding and addressing risky alcohol and drug use.

An abbreviation that most often means systolic blood pressure, and sometimes spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.

An abbreviation for subcutaneous, meaning into the fatty layer under the skin.

Severe combined immunodeficiency: a group of rare inherited disorders in which the immune system barely works from birth.

Safety Data Sheet: a document that describes a chemical product's hazards and how to handle it safely.

Social history: the part of a health history about a person's living situation, work, habits and supports.

An abbreviation with several meanings: International System of Units, suicidal ideation, or sacroiliac.

An abbreviation with several meanings, most often sympathetic nervous system; the setting shows which.

A progress note written in four parts: Subjective, Objective, Assessment and Plan.

Single-photon emission computed tomography: a nuclear medicine scan that makes 3D pictures using a small dose of a radioactive tracer.

An abbreviation for subcutaneous (under the skin) that ISMP lists as error-prone; ISMP advises SUBQ instead.

An abbreviation with more than one meaning, most often sustained-release (after a drug name) or sinus rhythm (on a heart strip).

An abbreviation that can mean surgical site infection or sliding scale insulin.

Immediately; at once.

ST-elevation myocardial infarction: a heart attack in which the ECG shows a raised ST segment.

The hospital department that cleans, inspects, packages, sterilizes, stores and sends out reusable instruments and supplies.

The US federal government's supply of drugs, vaccines and medical supplies held for a terrorist attack, an outbreak or another public health emergency.