| severity of illness index | Levels of severity of illness within a diagnostic group which are established by various measurement criteria. (12 Dec 1998) |
|---|---|
| addiction | <psychiatry> Pattern of compulsive drug use characterised by a continued craving for an opioid and the need to use the opioid for effects other than pain relief. (Psychological dependence). The state of being given up to some habit, especially strong dependence on a drug. (16 Dec 1997) |
| alcohol addiction | <disease> A disorder characterised by pathological pattern of alcohol use that causes a serious impairment in social or occupational functioning. In DSN III R this is termed alcohol abuse or, if tolerance or withdrawal is present, alcohol dependence. (18 Nov 1997) |
| drug addiction | Use of a drug for a reason other than which it was intended or in a manner or in quantities other than directed. Drug dependence is a compulsion to take a drug to produce a desired effect or prevent unpleasant effects when the drug is withheld. Risk factors for drug abuse include: low self esteem, inability to deal with stress and emotional instability. Juveniles use drugs due to peer pressure. Signs of drug use in children include: a change in friends or group, long absences from home, poor performance in school, seclusion, stealing, lying, criminal behaviour, deteriorating family relationships, signs of drug intoxication and changes in behaviour. Commonly abused drugs include narcotic analgesic agents, benzodiazepines, cocaine, amphetamines, barbiturates, marijuana, LSD and phencyclidine. Many labs now offer quick and inexpensive urine drug screening. Psychological counseling and parental support will be necessary in children with this problem. (27 Sep 1997) |
| injury severity score | An anatomic severity scale based on the abbreviated injury scale (ais) and developed specifically to score multiple traumatic injuries. It has been used as a predictor of mortality. (12 Dec 1998) |
| trauma severity indices | Systems for assessing, classifying, and coding injuries. These systems are used in medical records, surveillance systems, and state and national registries to aid in the collection and reporting of trauma. (12 Dec 1998) |
| absorbancy index | Absorbance (of light) per unit path length (usually the centimeter) and per unit of mass concentration. Compare: molar absorption coefficient. Synonym: absorbancy index, absorptivity, extinction coefficient, specific extinction. (05 Mar 2000) |
| alveolar index | Relation between the basialveolar (basion to alveolar point) and basinasal (basion to nasion) lengths: (basialveolar length × 100)/basinasal length; the result indicates the degree of projection of the maxilla or upper jaw. Synonym: alveolar index. (05 Mar 2000) |
| anaesthetic index | Ratio of the number of units of anaesthetic required for anaesthesia to the number of units of anaesthetic required to produce respiratory or cardiovascular failure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| antitryptic index | An obsolete term for the relative retardation in loss of viscosity of a solution of casein incubated with trypsin, to which a drop of abnormal blood serum (as from a cancerous patient) has been added, compared with that in a similar solution to which normal serum has been added; if the former drips through the tube of the viscosimeter in 100 seconds, and the latter in 104 seconds, the antitryptic index is 4. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Arneth index | An expression based on adding the percentages of polymorphonuclear neutrophils with 1 or 2 lobes in their nuclei, plus one-half the percentage with 3 lobes; the normal value is 60%. See: Arneth formula, Arneth count. (05 Mar 2000) |
| auricular index | Relation of the width to the height of the auricle or pinna: (width of pinna × 100)/length of pinna. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Ayala's index | The cerebrospinal index when 10 ml of cerebrospinal fluid have been removed. Synonym: Ayala's quotient, spinal quotient. (05 Mar 2000) |
| basilar index | Ratio between the basialveolar line and the maximum length of the cranium, according to the formula: (basialveolar line × 100)/length of cranium. Synonym: alveolar index. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Bodecker index | A modification of the DMF caries index. (05 Mar 2000) |