Table 2 Comparison of abbreviations (from medical records) with the two standards; in total, 479 abbreviations
Standard used for comparison
Trust Intranet Dictionary3Mosby’s Medical Dictionary4
Number recognised by source74 (15%)82 (17%)
Number not recognised by source405 (85%)397 (83%)
Number with alternative meaning79 (16%)108 (23%)
Number with >2 alternative meanings14 (3%)59 (12%)