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Emergency Medicine & First Aid vocabulary · Emergency Assessment (ABC)

AVPU

Meaning in emergency medicine & first aid, with examples

abbreviationCommon term

In emergency medicine & first aid, AVPU means: A quick scale for level of consciousness: the patient is Alert, responds to Voice, responds to Pain, or is Unresponsive.

In Turkish: AVPU, AVPU skalası

How it is used

Used by first aiders, ambulance crews and ward staff because it is faster than the GCS. People say a patient is 'A on AVPU' or 'only responding to pain'. Some UK early warning tools use ACVPU, adding C for new confusion.

Example sentences

  1. She's V on AVPU: she opens her eyes when you speak to her.

  2. His AVPU dropped from A to P during the transfer.

Common collocations

  • AVPU scale
  • alert on AVPU
  • responds to voice
  • responds to pain
  • GCSShort for Glasgow Coma Scale: a score from 3 to 15 for level of consciousness, based on how a patient opens their eyes, speaks and moves.
  • responsiveReacting when someone speaks to or touches you, for example by opening your eyes, moving or answering; the opposite is unresponsive.
  • unconsciousNot awake and not aware of what is happening, so that the person cannot respond normally to voices or touch.
  • primary surveyA fast, structured first check of a patient, usually in the ABCDE order, to find and deal with life-threatening problems.

More terms: Emergency Assessment (ABC)

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This page explains English vocabulary for learners. It is not medical advice.