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Medical Forum / General / Pharmacy / July 2003Astounded by mcg abbrfeviation!
I recently noticed that a container of Lanoxin (Glaxo Smith Kline) used the abbreviation mcg for microgram. After finally getting brainwashed to use International units, including preferred prefixes I was astounded to find out, by calling Glaxo, that the abbreviation was for *microgram*. Just reading it, I would have said milli-centigram, a rather stupid unit by itself. I remembered, perhaps wrongly from a recess in my mind, that some clinical measurements are in milligram percent. That is, the number of milligrams in 100mL of fluid. That is the equivalent of milli-centigrams per mL. I noticed that mcg was not an abbreviation used in the Merck Manual. They used µg for microgram. I do not know if the *mu* will show up properly in an e-mail for most readers. (I am using a Mac.) That, of course would be my preference. Just think of the confusion between g and gr when it came to grain and gram. I would appreciate any comments that straighten me out. Bill mcg became common because not many laypeople would notice the subtlety of the mu character, and mcg helps clarify things. Now, what *i* find confusing is how to administer a tablet to the right eye. I must see 50 scripts a day written like that. Aimee > I recently noticed that a container of Lanoxin (Glaxo Smith Kline) used the > abbreviation mcg for microgram. After finally getting brainwashed to use [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > I noticed that mcg was not an abbreviation used in the Merck Manual. They > used ?g for microgram. I do not know if the *mu* will show up properly in an > e-mail for most readers. (I am using a Mac.) That, of course would be my > preference. Just think of the confusion between g and gr when it came to [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Bill > X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 > > mcg became common because not many laypeople would notice the subtlety of > the mu character, and mcg helps clarify things. Certainly, "mcg" does not clarify but obscures. If you cannot, for some reason, use the Greek "µ" then you should write "ug" according to ISO 2955 http://www.unics.uni-hannover.de/ntr/russisch/si-einheiten.html To transmit special, non-ASCII characters with your <ahem> newsreader, you need to choose Tools > Options > Send Mail Sending Format > Plain Text Settings > Message format MIME News Sending Format > Plain Text Settings > Message format MIME Encode text using: None  SignatureTop posting. What's the most irritating thing on Usenet? : mcg became common because not many laypeople would notice the subtlety of : the mu character, and mcg helps clarify things. Now, what *i* find confusing : is how to administer a tablet to the right eye. I must see 50 scripts a day : written like that. : Aimee What is it, do they write OD in place of qd? > : mcg became common because not many laypeople would notice the subtlety of > : the mu character, and mcg helps clarify things. Now, what *i* find confusing [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > What is it, do they write OD in place of qd? You got it. Easy for me to read but the new techs invariably end up having patients poke themselves in the eye. Aimee : You got it. Easy for me to read but the new techs invariably end up having : patients poke themselves in the eye. : Aimee It's because their handwriting is so bad. One guy on the radio said that prescriptions much have a secret check-box on the back where the doctor indicated what medicine he wants, cause the writing's so bad no one in the world can read it. > One guy on the radio said that prescriptions much have a secret check-box > on the back where the doctor indicated what medicine he wants, cause the > writing's so bad no one in the world can read it. Only my ophthalmologist uses a preprinted form with a list of medications he prescribes. He then checks of the desired medications. On problem is that it lists nonexistent sizes. Bill > I recently noticed that a container of Lanoxin (Glaxo Smith Kline) used the > abbreviation mcg for microgram. After finally getting brainwashed to use [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > I noticed that mcg was not an abbreviation used in the Merck Manual. They > used ?g for microgram. I do not know if the *mu* will show up properly in an > e-mail for most readers. (I am using a Mac.) That, of course would be my > preference. Just think of the confusion between g and gr when it came to > grain and gram. > > I would appreciate any comments that straighten me out. The mu symbol is not on alotta keyboards. If its on mine, I can't find it. My bottle of digoxin by Duramed has the ug (closest I could get). And Synthroid puts the mg in ( ) to make it clear what they mean by mcg. Brad > X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 > > The mu symbol is not on alotta keyboards. > If its on mine, I can't find it. alt+0181 Still more important is to choose Tools > Options > Send Mail Sending Format > Plain Text Settings > Message format MIME News Sending Format > Plain Text Settings > Message format MIME Encode text using: None if you want to transmit special, non-ASCII characters like "µ". SignatureTop posting. What's the most irritating thing on Usenet? ? Oh yea I'm sure I'll remember that. Brad top posting cuz ... well. just cuz > > X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 > > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > if you want to transmit special, non-ASCII characters like "?". >> X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2800.1158 >> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > >if you want to transmit special, non-ASCII characters like "µ". Mu is, or was, an extended ascii character (decimal 230). However, the extended characters are *much* less standardized than the lower 128, to the point that they really don't adhere to any standard at all. Windows in particular redefines many of the higher order characters according to which character set is in use. And of course, not everyone uses Windows or agrees with its conventions. The *only* standard that works on all machines is the bottom 128 ascii characters, which excludes anything but what is found on a standard keyboard. Thus, mu can be approximated by "u" or by "mc". The latter was used more frequently in the past but now seems to be falling out of favor. Steve Turner Real address contains worldnet instead of spamnet >> I noticed that mcg was not an abbreviation used in the Merck Manual. They >> used µg for microgram. I do not know if the *mu* will show up properly in [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Brad Please let me know if your e-mail screen showed a mu in the appropriate place. Mine does, but that does not mean that the typical Wintel computer will show that. On my keyboard, I can get a µ with an option-m press. I have used um, ug, uvolt, etc in the past for corresponding micro symbols. I also have available a control panel called *key caps*. It shows what combination of keys will provide the desired character. It can also be activated with the mouse and then copied and pasted. On the medication bottle, the weight (actually the mass) of the medication in milligrams WAS marked in parentheses. That is why I posted in the first place. The two weights seemed mutually inconsistent if m stands for milli and cg stands for centigram. Bill |
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