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In the United Kingdom, all prescriptions should be in English without abbreviation (apart from some units such as mg and mL; micrograms and nanograms should not be abbreviated).
In the metric system, a microgram or microgramme is a unit of mass equal to one millionth (1 × 10 −6) of a gram. The unit symbol is μg according to the International System of Units (SI); the recommended symbol in the United States and United Kingdom when communicating medical information is mcg.
mi·cro·gram (γ, mcg), (mī'krō-gram), It is recommended that, in handwritten material and in computer work, this word be written in full, because both human beings and computers may misread the abbreviation μg as mg and the abbreviation γ as g. Alternatively the abbreviation mcg may be used.
microgram. (μg) [ mi´kro-gram] one millionth (10 −6) of a gram. Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, Seventh Edition. © 2003 by Saunders, an imprint of Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved.
Feb 2, 2022 · Abbreviations. Microgram = mcg (may also be written µgm) Milligram = mg; Gram = gm; Kilogram = kg; Ounces = oz; Pounds = lbs; Temperature Measurement Conversions. The Fahrenheit scale for temperature is only used in the United States and its associated colonies, although Canada still retains it as a supplementary scale.
The metric system uses the abbreviation mcg to represent micrograms 1. A microgram is equivalent to a millionth of a gram or a thousandth of a milligram. In the International System of Units measurements, the mcg is one of the smallest frequently used units.
Examples of error-prone medical abbreviations include: IU (international unit): may be confused with “IV” (intravenous) µg (microgram): may be confused with mg (milligram) U (unit): may be mistaken for “0” (zero), increasing the dose tenfold.
Feb 9, 2022 · Learn common abbreviations that your healthcare provider may use on a medication prescription, and why these abbreviations can cause harmful medical errors.
mi·cro·gram (γ, mcg), ( mī'krō-gram ), It is recommended that, in handwritten material and in computer work, this word be written in full, because both human beings and computers may misread the abbreviation μg as mg and the abbreviation γ as g. Alternatively the abbreviation mcg may be used. One millionth of a gram.
Apr 25, 2023 · Also, the abbreviations “mcg” and “µg” (for microgram) can be mistaken for “mg” (for milligram), creating a 1000-fold overdose. Similar mistakes could also occur in veterinary medicine.
