Common abbreviations and acronyms on this community

[Victoria-NRAS]

I recently received a suggestion that we have a section on this forum to explain some of the many abbreviations and acronyms that people commonly use. I have therefore set this up as a pinned post and will put in some of the ones that immediately spring to mind, but would also encourage you to:

a) Where possible, give the full version of a word you wish to abbreviate, with the abbreviated version in brackets after it, the first time you use it in a post.

b) Add to this post with other abbreviations/acronyms.

c) Please ONLY add to this post with other abbreviations/acronyms, so that people don't have lots of conversation to scroll through.

Here are some to start us off:

[Victoria-NRAS Partner Moderator NRAS]

Conditions:

RA/RD: rheumatoid arthritis (referred to as some as rheumatoid disease)

OA: osteoarthritis

PsA: psoriatic arthritis

PMR: polymyalgia rheumatic

AS or ank spond: ankylosing spondylitis

ReA: Reactive Arthritis.

JIA: Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

SS: Sjögren’s Syndrome

[PFKAAde in reply to Victoria-NRAS]

Non Inflammatory Arthritis medical terms:

DDD: Degenerative Disc Disease.

DS: Degenerative Scoliosis.

IBD: Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

IBS: Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

FM / Fibro: Fibromyalgia.

IP: Intestinal Permeability AKA 'Leaky Gut'.

[Victoria-NRAS Partner Moderator NRAS]

Medications:

Standard DMARDs:

MTX: methotrexate

SSZ: Sulfasalazine (sometimes 'sulphasalazine)

HCQ. Hydroxychloroquine

LEF: lefluomide

Biologic DMARDs:

ADA: adalimumab

ETN: etanercept

IFX: infliximab

RTX: rituximab

CZP: certolizumab pegol

GLM: golimumab

TCZ: tocilizumab

ABA: abatacept

Other:

NSAIDs: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

[nomoreheels in reply to Victoria-NRAS]

DMARDS, anti-TNFs & Biologics + Misc, Medical Staff Names, Dept Names etc

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DMARDs: disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs

MTX: methotrexate

HCQ: hydroxychloroquine

LEF: leflunomide

SSZ: sulfasalazine (or sulphasalazine)

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Anti-TNF's & Biologics

Many anti-TNFs (anti-tumour necrosis factors) & biologics are regularly called by their brand name

adalimumab: Humira (anti-TNF) - Biosimilars: Amgevita, Imraldi, Hyrimoz & Hulio

etanercept: Enbrel (anti-TNF) - Biosimilar: Benepali & Erelzi

infliximab: Remicade (anti-TNF) - Biosimilars: Inflectra & Remsima

certolizumab pegol: Cimzia (anti-TNF)

golimumab: Simponi (anti-TNF)

rituximab: Mabthera (Biologic) - Biosimilar: Truxima

tocilizumab: RoActemra (Biologic)

abatacept: Orencia (Biologic)

anakinra: Kineret (Biologic)

sarilumab: Kevzara (Biologic)

baricitinib: Olumiant (Janus Kinase Inhibitor/JAK/Jakinib)

tofacitinib: Xeljanz (Janus Kinase Inhibitor/JAK/Jakinib)

upadacitinib: Rinvoq (Janus Kinase Inhibitor/JAK/Jakinib)

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NSAIDs (brands not exhaustive)

aceclofenac (Preservex)

aspirin - doses upwards of 300mg (Anadin/Disprin)

celecoxib (Celebrex)

dexibuprofen (Seractil)

dexketoprofen (Keral)

diclofenac potassium (Voltarol Rapid)

disclofenac sodium (Motifene/Diclomax/Voltarol Retard)

etodolac (Etopan/Lodine/Eccoxolac)

etoricoxib (Arcoxia)

flurbiprofen (Froben)

ibuprofen (Neurofen/Brufen/Ibucalm/Ibular)

indometasin (Berlind/Indocin)

ketoprofen (Larafil/Oruvail/Valket)

ketorolac trometamol (Acular - eye drops)

mefenamic acid (Ponstan)

meloxicam (Mobic)

nabumetone (Relifex)

naproxen (Naprosyn/Nexocin/Stirlescent)

paracetamol (Mandanol/Panadol/Paravict/Altridexamol)

parecoxib (Dynastat)

piroxicam (Feldene Melt/Feldene)

sulindac

tenoxicam (Mobiflex)

tiaprofenic acid (Surgam)

tolfenamic acid (Clotam Rapid)

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Medical staff abbreviations & other abbreviations

Rheumy: Rheumatologist

CR: Consultant Rheumatologist

LCR: Locum Consultant in Rheumatology

SpR: Specialist Registrar

SpRR or StRR: Specialist Registrar in Rheumatology

RNP: Rheumatology Nurse Practitioner

NP: Nurse Practitioner

CNS: Clinical Nurse Specialist

RCNS: Rheumatology Clinical Nurse Specialist

RN: Registered Nurse

OT: Occupational Therapy/Occupational Therapist

Physio: Physiotherapy/Physiotherapist

Pod: Podiatry/Podiatrist

PCP: Primary Care Pharmacist

GPwSI: GP with Special Interest

GPwSIR: GP with Special Interest Rheumatology

GPwER: GP with Extended Role

CCG: Clinical Commissioning Group

HU: Healthunlocked

GI: Gastrointestinal

CV: Cardiovascular

EMG: Electromyography

NCS: Nerve Conduction Study or

NVT: Nerve Conduction Velocity test

DWP: Department for Work & Pensions

PIP: Personal Independence Payment - MR: Mandatory Reconsideration

DLA: Disability Living Allowance

ESA: Employment & Support Allowance

AA: Attendance Allowance

EULAR: European League Against Rheumatism

NICE: The National Institute for Health & Care Excellence

FDA: US Food & Drug Administration

[Hopeful1 in reply to Victoria-NRAS]

The following list is an example of NSAIDs available:

•aspirin.

•celecoxib (Celebrex)

•diclofenac (Cambia, Cataflam, Voltaren-XR, Zipsor, Zorvolex)

•diflunisal (Dolobid - discontinued brand)

•etodolac (Lodine - discontinued brand)

•ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil)

•indomethacin (Indocin)

[Victoria-NRAS Partner Moderator NRAS]

Benefits:

PIP: Personal Independence Payment

DLA: Disability Living Allowance

AA: Attendance Allowance

ESA: Employment and Support Allowance

[Victoria-NRAS Partner Moderator NRAS]

Blood tests:

RF: rheumatoid factor - antibody more commonly found in the blood of people with RA

ESR and

CRP: tests showing levels of inflammation

anti-CCP: test for an antibody used for diagnosis of RA. Not as common as RF

PV: Plasma viscocity

(with the possible exception of rheumatoid factor, the abbreviations are more common than giving the name in full)

Sero+ and sero-:

Seropositive and seronegative refer to whether or not someone is positive for the antibodies for RA (rheumatoid factor and anti-CCP)

[PFKAAde]

General acronyms:

AFAIK: As Far As I Know.

AKA: Also Known As.

IIRC: If I Recall Correctly.

IMO / IMHO: In My Opinion / In My Humble Opinion.

IME: In My Experience.

IDK: I Don't Know.

YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary (a reference to the fact that a third party may have a different result from the writer).

TL;DR: Too Long Didn't Read (a cheeky reference to the length of a post).

OP: Original Post / Poster.

TBF: To Be Fair.

TBH: To Be Honest.

LOL: Laugh Out Loud.

FFS: For Flip's Sake 😀

PDQ: Pretty Damn Quick.

[Victoria-NRAS Partner Moderator NRAS in reply to PFKAAde]

OH: Other half

[helixhelix]

PALS: Patient Advisory Liaison Service. Each hospital should have one and they help with making complaints and reporting problems.

[KellyInTexas]

APS: Antiphospholipid Syndrome

[Whitegate]

Thank you