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Medicine vocabulary · History Taking and Examination

Chief complaint

Meaning in medicine, with examples

/ˌtʃiːf kəmˈpleɪnt/nounCore term

In medicine, chief complaint means: The main problem that made the patient come to see a doctor, usually written in the patient's own words at the start of the notes.

In Turkish: başvuru şikayeti, ana şikayet, başlıca yakınma

How it is used

The first heading in an admission or clinic note, abbreviated CC in the US. In the UK the same heading is called the presenting complaint (PC).

Example sentences

  1. Chief complaint: 'I can't catch my breath when I climb stairs.'

  2. Her chief complaint was headache, but the history revealed a lot more.

Common collocations

  • chief complaint of
  • document the chief complaint
  • presenting complaint
  • take a historyTo ask a patient structured questions about their current problem, past illnesses, medicines, family and lifestyle in order to understand what is wrong.
  • present withTo come to a doctor or hospital with a particular problem or symptom; also used for the way a disease first shows itself.
  • symptomSomething a patient feels and reports, such as pain, tiredness or nausea, that may show they have an illness. Doctors learn about it by asking, not by measuring.
  • complain ofTo tell a doctor or nurse that you have a particular symptom, such as pain or tiredness.

More terms: History Taking and Examination

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