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• Medical Slangs

- D -

• D&D

"Death and donuts"-slang for morbidity/mortality conference



• DC

Discontinue (or) discharge; when the meaning is obvious, as it usually is, spell it out.



• Dead shovel

Obese male patient who dies while shoveling snow



• Decels

Decelerations; expand to full word in reports



• Dehisced

Actually, a wound does not dehisce; it is in a state of dehiscence, but here again the word has become acceptable through usage. See "bovied."



• DeLee'd

A better way would be to substitute "DeLee suctioned"



• Demerol sponge

Great capacity, tolerance to, and desire for high doses of narcotics by patients with chronic pain management problems



• Dex

Spell out dexamethasone



• DFO

"Done fell out"-dialectical expression of syncope



• Di-di twins

Spell out dichorionic-diamniotic



• Diff

As in "CBC with diff." It's best to spell out the word differential; however, the short form is acceptable in most facilities.



• Diffusely positive

Review of systems patient who reports findings or complaints broadly through each system of the body during the history interview of formal examination



• Dig ("dij")

Spell out digitalis. Even if the doctor is indicating digoxin, both are digitalis-derived drugs, and "dig" by itself is confusing and interrupts flow of thought.



• Digitalized

Not a proper term, but widely used. See "bovied"



• Digitation

Aside from the dictionary definition(s), ED doctors sometimes use this to mean amputation of a digit. When the meaning is clear, it should be transcribed as "amputation of digit" to avoid confusion with the legitimate definition.



• Dope addict

Patient addicted to (illicit) substances, usually cocaine or heroin



• Double-doc'ed

Meaning that two procedures are planned to be performed on the patient involving two surgeons such as an orthopedist and a plastic surgeon requiring two consents to be signed. You could possibly change the statement to say that the patient was consented (or signed consents) for both procedures. This one is a dilemma, and quite often we resort to putting this spurious term in quotes.



• DRT

"Dead right there''-patient has been deceased long enough to greatly decrease the probability of resuscitation



• Duck

Slang for a male urinal from its typical white enamelware construction and its similar silhouette to the bird



• Dumbbells

Mnemonic for cholinergic overdose (diarrhea, urination, miosis/muscle weakness, bronchorrhea, bradycardia, emesis, lacrimation, salivation/sweating)