I just finished watching a House episode (medical drama) and they used the terms "chronic" and "acute" quite frenquently. I know that it has to do with the duration and stuff, but what do they actually mean?
2007-06-03 02:33:27 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
Chronic - rumbling on and on
Acute - sudden and intense
Examples:-
Chronic back pain is where someone suffers pain in the back for years, sometimes its worse than at other times but it never really goes away
Acute Appendicitis: the sudden and painful onset of an infected appendix requiring urgent medical attention before the appendix ruptures.
2007-06-03 02:37:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Acute Medical Definition
2016-11-04 23:54:00 · answer #2 · answered by hogge 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Chronic conditions are ones you live with for a long time, like arthritis, asthma, AIDS, cancer. They generally do not resolve themselves.
Acute conditions are generally short term conditions that resolve themselves (or kill you), like a cold or the flu. Injuries are generally acute, but can result in chronic complications, eg a broken bone is an acute situation, but the pain that happens when the weather changes for years afterwards is chronic.
Many chronic conditions have acute phases, eg asthma is a chronic condition, but an asthmatic episode is an acute component. Arthritis sufferers have chronic arthritis, but can have acute flare-ups where the inflammation is particularly severe.
2007-06-03 02:46:35 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
In medicine, "acute" usually means short-term without any implications about severity, as opposed to the non-medical definition which may imply severity. "Chronic" means long-standing, but how long is long is not well-defined, and the general implication is different with different syndromes, but as a rule of thumb for many conditions, something in the order of six or eight weeks is a minimum time-frame for something to be considered chronic.
2007-06-03 03:43:50 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
chronic means long term
acute means short term
2007-06-03 02:45:13 · answer #5 · answered by jose p 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
acute is something serious but usually short acting. chronic usually means something that has happened over time. acute illnesses usually can be cured chronic can't
2007-06-03 18:55:24 · answer #6 · answered by veronicawilliams1969 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Chronic comes and goes. Acute, your stuck with.
2007-06-03 02:41:37 · answer #7 · answered by TD Euwaite? 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
chronic...is the really ugly old matron nurse
acute is the sexy younger nurse
2007-06-03 02:54:16 · answer #8 · answered by nikkiidaniels 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋
serious condition.
2007-06-03 02:40:42 · answer #9 · answered by Heads up! 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋