Hi, All:
Just thought I'd get this ball rolling. I looked up a few acronyms and terms I was unfamiliar with and listed them down below. The list is far from complete and could use some additions, as well as editing for the things I fat-fingered or just plain got wrong.
ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease)
BPAP, BiPAP - Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure; a portable ventilator machine producing 2-level airflow; a majority of PALS patients will eventually experience difficulty breathing and can thus use BPAP machines, especially for sleep
CALS - Caregiver for person with ALS
CPF - Cough Peak Flow
Dx - diagnosis
FVC - Forced Vital Capacity (lung function test)
Gait belt - device used to transfer people from one position to another; customarily made out of cotton webbing and a durable metal buckle on one end; worn around a patient's waist
LTMV - Long Term Mechanical Ventilation
MND - Motor neurone disease (or Motor neuron disease); the most common MND is ALS
NIV - Non-Invasive Ventilation
PALS - Person with ALS
PFT - Pulmonary function test
PWC - Powered Wheel Chair
Rollator - Rolling or wheeled walker
RT - respiratory therapist (?)
Transfer board - see
Transfer Boards | Patient Transfer | Sliding Boards | Mobility Assistance | Patient Shifter for definition
Regards,
Ed
