Contraindication
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In medicine, a contraindication is a condition or factor that serves as a reason to withhold a certain medical treatment.[1]
Some contraindications are absolute, meaning that there are no reasonable circumstances for undertaking a course of action. For example, children and teenagers with viral infections should not be given aspirin because of the risk of Reye's syndrome,[2] and a person with an anaphylactic food allergy should never eat the food to which they are allergic. Similarly, a person with hemochromatosis should not be administered iron preparations.
Other contraindications are relative, meaning that the patient is at higher risk of complications, but that these risks may be outweighed by other considerations or mitigated by other measures. For example, a pregnant woman should normally avoid getting X-rays, but the risk may be outweighed by the benefit of diagnosing (and then treating) a serious condition such as tuberculosis. Relative contraindications may also be referred to as cautions, such as in the British National Formulary.
See also
References
- ^ "Contraindication - Medical Definition and More from Merriam-Webster". http://mw4.m-w.com/medical/contraindication. Retrieved 14 December 2010.
- ^ Raymond S. Sinatra, Jonathan S. Jahr, J. Michael Watkins-Pitchford (2011). The Essence of Analgesia and Analgesics. Cambridge University Press. p. 253. ISBN 0521144507. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZwPIjKg0XukC&lpg=PA253&dq=absolute%20contraindication%20aspirin%20Reye's%20syndrome&pg=PA253#v=onepage&q&f=false.
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Look at other dictionaries:
Contraindication — Con tra*in di*ca tion, n. (med.) An indication or symptom which forbids the method of treatment usual in such cases. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Contraindication — (v. lat.), Gegenanzeige; daher Contraindicantia, diejenigen Krankheitserscheinungen, welche gegen ein von anderen Erscheinungen gebotenes (angezeigtes) Mittel sprechen, s. Therapie … Pierer's Universal-Lexikon
contraindication — index admonition, antipode, contradiction, deterrence, deterrent, warning Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
Contraindication — A condition which makes a particular treatment or procedure inadvisable. A contraindication may be absolute or relative. An absolute contraindication is a situation which makes a particular treatment or procedure absolutely inadvisable. In a baby … Medical dictionary
contraindication — UK [ˌkɒntrəˌɪndɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n] / US [ˌkɑntrəˌɪndɪˈkeɪʃ(ə)n] noun [countable] Word forms contraindication : singular contraindication plural contraindications medical a medical reason why someone should not use a particular drug or medical treatment … English dictionary
contraindication — con·tra·in·di·ca·tion (kŏn trə ĭn dĭ kāʹshən) n. A factor that renders the administration of a drug or the carrying out of a medical procedure inadvisable: A previous allergic reaction to penicillin is a contraindication to the future use of that … Universalium
contraindication — n. any factor in a patient s condition that makes it unwise to pursue a certain line of treatment. For example, an attack of pneumonia in a patient would be a strong contraindication against the use of a general anaesthetic … The new mediacal dictionary
contraindication — A symptom or medical condition that makes a particular treatment or procedure inadvisable because a person is likely to have a bad reaction. For example, having a bleeding disorder is a contraindication for taking aspirin because treatment with… … English dictionary of cancer terms
contraindication — noun Date: 1623 something (as a symptom or condition) that makes a particular treatment or procedure inadvisable … New Collegiate Dictionary
contraindication — noun A factor or symptom which makes the prescribed treatment inadvisable … Wiktionary