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A&E: Accident and Emergency

ApC: Activated Protein C

Also know as Drotrecogin or Xigris. Produced by Lilly this drug is used in the treatment of patients with Sepsis and Multi-organ failure. The sepsis cascade, which is associated with simultaneous activation of systemic inflammation and coagulation, along with altered fibrinolysis, leads to microvascular endothelial injury, acute organ dysfunction, and possibly death. Thrombin, with its procoagulant and anticoagulant effects, as well as its involvement in the process of inflammation, is thought to be central to the sepsis cascade. In vitro and animal models suggest that Activated Protein C, a protein that has antithrombotic, anti-inflammatory and profibrinolytic activities, may be an important modulator of the vicious cycle of coagulation and inflammation associated with the sepsis cascade, which if unchecked may ultimately lead to death. Several properties of Activated Protein C, including its unique positioning to regulate coagulopathies in the microvasculature and the ability of EPCR to facilitate Protein C activation, support the continued development of Activated Protein C-mediated strategies that are aimed at disrupting the process whereby inflammation initiates coagulation and coagulation amplifies inflammation. The Network has produced guidelines and clinical eligibility criteria that incorporate the NICE guidelines.

AHP: Allied Healthcare Professional

Advances in medicine mean that healthcare is provided more and more by a team of professionals with a range of different skills, each bringing their particular expertise to caring for the patient. Allied health professionals are key members of the NHS and work autonomously and in multi-professional teams in various settings. Some healthcare professionals may have a PhD and therefore use the title Dr, for example psychologists, but they are not medically qualified in the same way as a hospital doctor or general practitioner. These include, amongst others: Dieticians, Clinical Respiratory Physiologists, Occupational Therapists, Paramedics, Physiotherapists, Radiographers etc. The link below provides a detailed list of all AHP’s and is worth a visit.

ABG: Arterial Blood Gas

Arterial blood gas measurement is a blood test that is performed to determine the concentration of oxygen, carbon dioxide and bicarbonate, as well as the pH, in the blood. Its main use is in critical care, anesthetics and pulmonary medicine, as many respiratory and lung diseases feature poor gas exchange, but it is also used in nephrology (kidney diseases) and electrolyte disturbances. As its name implies, the sample is taken from an artery.