LETTER
The Language of Case Histories
Norman Delanty, MD
15 May 1998 | Volume 128 Issue 10 | Page 877
TO THE EDITOR:
I read with interest and pleasure Dr. Donnelly's essay [1], and I agree with most of its sentiments. My complaint about language in case history presentation is more specific. I am a graduate of an Irish medical school who has been in the United States for the past 3 and a half years. Since coming here, I have found the use of the term "status post" in referring to aspects of the patient's history (recent or remote) to be appalling, both linguistically and humanely. "The patient had bypass surgery" is much gentler to my ear than "the patient is status post CABG." More important, I think that this ugly phrase is mechanistic and even degrading. Am I alone? Could I even dare suggest that we become status post "status post" and drop this abomination from our medical histories and case presentations?
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Author and Article Information
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Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia, PA 19104
1. Donnelly WJ. The language of medical case histories. Ann Intern Med. 1997; 127:1045-8.
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