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What Is The Meaning Of The Medical Terminology 'Stat'?
Posted on
Sun, 19 Jun 2016
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Sun, 19 Jun 2016
Answered on
Tue, 12 Jul 2016
Last reviewed on
Question : Dear Dr, what does STAT mean when a doctor instructs a nurse for me to.have Gentamycin by way of intravenous delivery....does this mean just the one does ..please advise.
Brief Answer:
Discussion follows
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome and thanks for the query.
Stat stands for carrying out an order immediately. This can be an injection, oral medication etc. In some cases like a prophylaxis only one dose may be intended. While treating an established bacterial infection with an antibiotic usually Stat is followed by orders Q8H meaning every 8 hrs or Q12H meaning every 12 hrs etc.
In certain situations like renal failure the dose may have to be spaced out further in which case the doctor may write only stat dose initially and will write further doses later depending on the results.
Do get back to me if you have further questions.
Discussion follows
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome and thanks for the query.
Stat stands for carrying out an order immediately. This can be an injection, oral medication etc. In some cases like a prophylaxis only one dose may be intended. While treating an established bacterial infection with an antibiotic usually Stat is followed by orders Q8H meaning every 8 hrs or Q12H meaning every 12 hrs etc.
In certain situations like renal failure the dose may have to be spaced out further in which case the doctor may write only stat dose initially and will write further doses later depending on the results.
Do get back to me if you have further questions.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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