__NOTOC__OPQRST is a

mnemonic A mnemonic device ( ), memory trick or memory device is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval in the human memory, often by associating the information with something that is easier to remember. It makes use of e ...

initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...

used by medical professionals to accurately discern reasons for a

patient A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by Health professional, healthcare professionals. The patient is most often Disease, ill or Major trauma, injured and in need of therapy, treatment by a physician, nurse, op ...

symptom Signs and symptoms are diagnostic indications of an illness, injury, or condition. Signs are objective and externally observable; symptoms are a person's reported subjective experiences. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature ...

s and history in the event of an acute illness. It is specifically adapted to elicit symptoms of a possible

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. Each letter stands for an important line of questioning for the

assessment. This is usually taken along with

vital signs Vital signs (also known as vitals) are a group of the four to six most crucial medical signs that indicate the status of the body's vital (life-sustaining) functions. These measurements are taken to help assess the general physical health of ...

and the

SAMPLE history SAMPLE history is a mnemonic acronym to remember key questions for a person's medical assessment. The SAMPLE history is sometimes used in conjunction with vital signs and OPQRST. The questions are most commonly used in the field of emergency med ...

and would usually be recorded by the person delivering the aid, such as in the "Subjective" portion of a SOAP note, for later reference. "PQRST" (onset "O") is sometimes used in conjunction. The term "OPQRST-AAA" adds "aggravating/alleviating factors", "associated symptoms", and "attributions/adaptations".

Use

The parts of the mnemonic are: ;Onset of the event :What the patient was doing when it started (active, inactive, stressed, etc.), whether the patient believes that activity prompted the pain, and whether the onset was sudden, gradual or part of an ongoing chronic problem. ;Provocation or palliation :Whether any movement, pressure (such as

palpation Palpation is the process of using one's hands to check the body, especially while perceiving/diagnosing a disease or illness. Usually performed by a health care practitioner, it is the process of feeling an object in or on the body to determine ...

) or other external factor makes the problem better or worse. This can also include whether the symptoms relieve with rest. ;Quality of the pain :This is the patient's description of the pain. Questions can be open ended ("Can you describe it for me?") or leading. Ideally, this will elicit descriptions of the patient's pain: whether it is sharp, dull, crushing, burning, tearing, or some other feeling, along with the pattern, such as intermittent, constant, or throbbing. ;Region and radiation :Where the pain is on the body and whether it radiates (extends) or moves to any other area. This can give indications for conditions such as a

myocardial infarction A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, which can radiate through the jaw and arms. Other

referred pain Referred pain, also called reflective pain, is pain perceived at a location other than the site of the painful stimulus. An example is the case of angina pectoris brought on by a myocardial infarction (heart attack), where pain is often felt in t ...

s can provide clues to underlying medical causes. ;Severity :The pain score (usually on a scale of 0 to 10). Zero is no pain and ten is the worst possible pain. This can be comparative (such as "... compared to the worst pain you have ever experienced") or imaginative ("... compared to having your arm ripped off by an alien"). If the pain is compared to a prior event, the nature of that event may be a follow-up question. The clinician must decide whether a score given is realistic within their experience – for instance, a pain score 10 for a stubbed toe is likely to be exaggerated. This may also be assessed for pain now, compared to pain at time of onset, or pain on movement. There are alternative assessment methods for pain, which can be used where a patient is unable to vocalise a score. One such method is the Wong-Baker faces pain scale. ;Time (history) :How long the condition has been going on and how it has changed since onset (better, worse, different symptoms), whether it has ever happened before, whether and how it may have changed since onset, and when the pain stopped if it is no longer currently being felt.

References

{{Medical mnemonics Medical mnemonics Pain

Use

See also

References