Corporate document
Scientific and medical terms
Clinical trials
Do not confuse adverse events, adverse reactions, adverse effects and side effects.
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An adverse event is an unwanted event that happens when someone is having treatment, regardless of whether the event is related to the treatment.
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An adverse reaction is an unwanted reaction that happens when someone is having treatment, which is suspected to be related to the treatment.
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An adverse effect is an unwanted medical effect directly caused by a treatment.
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Side effect is more of an umbrella term that is often used in information for the public. It can be used to describe any unintended effect related to treatment.
Data is considered a mass noun. So use 'is' for data, as you would for 'information' or 'evidence'. For example, 'this data is uncertain', 'the data was incomplete'.
Use phase 1, 2, 3 or 4 rather than Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV) to describe phases in clinical trials and cancer staging. Screenreaders do not read out Roman numerals correctly.
Use confidence interval on first use and abbreviate to CI thereafter. Use 'to' rather than an en dash when describing confidence intervals to avoid confusion with negative numbers ('95% confidence interval -6 to 9').
Report p values with a lower case p and no space between the brackets ('p=0.01'). If a result is quoted as significant but no p value is given, check whether the data is actually statistically significant or whether something like notable might be more accurate.
Use abbreviations for trial names ('RESUSC‑1'). There is no need to write them out in full. Write them in full capital letters: do not capitalise based on what the abbreviation stands for.
Avoid classing people as responders or non-responders when discussing treatment; use 'people whose disease responded' or '…did not respond' instead. In some cases (if, for example, you're describing a lot of data from a complex cancer trial), you may have to use responders and non-responders to avoid long, repetitive sentences.
Method and methodology are not interchangeable. Methodology is a system of methods used in a particular area of study (for example, the Cochrane Review Methodology Database) or the science of methods.
Put a full stop at the end of 'et al.'
Diseases and medical terms
| Do use | Do not use |
|---|---|
|
Gonorrhoea |
Gonorrhea |
|
Cytological |
Cytologic |
|
Flu |
Influenza 'Flu |
|
Leukocyte |
Leucocyte |
|
Hodgkin lymphoma |
Hodgkin's lymphoma |
|
Neurological |
Neurologic |
|
Thrombocytopenia |
Thrombocytopaenia |
|
Neutropenia |
Neutropaenia |
|
Interferon alfa |
Interferon alpha |
|
Hormone-relapsed prostate cancer |
Castration-resistant prostate cancer |
|
Magnesium sulfate |
Magnesium sulphate |
Drugs and medicines
Use generic names for drugs (as listed in the British national formulary) unless a brand name makes more sense in context (for example, in some information for the public). Use lower case for generic names. Always say generic, not non‑branded.
Use medicine if you can. Drugs or medication are fine but if you use drugs make sure that it cannot be misinterpreted to mean illegal drugs.
Medicines are given according to a regimen, not a regime.
Dose or dosage: dose refers to the amount of drug ('patients had 500 mg paracetamol' or 'patients had paracetamol 500 mg'; either format is fine but be consistent). Dosage refers to both the amount and frequency of drug ('the recommended dosage is 500 mg, 3 times daily').
Avoid Latin phrases if there are clear English alternatives. If there is no simple English alternative (de novo, vice versa), do not italicise the Latin. Do not use shorthand dosing schedules ('as needed' not p.r.n.; '3 times daily' not t.d.s.).