Use of C/O in Documentation

[darrell]

I am having a discussion with a co-worker about the use of c/o or "complains of" vs. "reports". The general idea is that the c/o phrase has negative connotations associated with the concept of complaining. She says there is an effort to move away from this phrase and abbreviation in the industry, but Google is failing me when I try to verify or refute this. Anyone have any leads?

Thanks!

D

[Sadala, ADN, RN]

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[TD]Verb

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1. Express dissatisfaction or annoyance about a state of affairs or an event.
   
2. State that one is suffering from (a pain or other symptom of illness): "he began to complain of headaches".
   

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(Webster's is good enough for me!)

[SleeepyRN]

c/o has many interpretations which is why its sometimes unclear. i hate short hand!! it can mean complained of, continues on, commenced on.. documentation has gone so downhill, sometimes nearly as illegible as doctors writing with all the short hand, and thats bad!

In reference to the tense of the verb "to complain", that is why we document thoroughly. If we document that a pt. "c/o", we also document our intervention and the outcome. Perhaps the nurse then documents that she relayed that info to the oncoming nurse for him/her to continue to monitor. That makes it pretty clear.

[SleeepyRN]

Totally agree with this why aren't schools teaching to never chart "no c/o pain", ever?

Chart "pt denies pain" or, if they're non verbal, "no signs/symptoms of pain".

Maybe they're too busy teaching that "c/o"or "SOB" might hurt the "customer's" feelings.

I learned "denies pain" in school.

[Rjohn081]

naah sleepy, you dont stand a chance if ever short handed documentation goes to court for any reason, id just prefer to not be in that position. i make sure all my students write properly with no short hand! it'l stand to them if ever they need it! :)

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Spend a week doing work comp case management with people whose employers think they're malingering and you'll never use "complains of" again. It's a term that's seen as pejorative by the many, many nonmedical people who read our charting. "Complains of" translates to "whines about" in their minds. When somebody really did get hurt and really has had lousy care, "reports" reads a lot better when I take him to a second opinion.

Also, when a person "reports" a symptom, that tends to get the physician's attention better than "complains of," because it sounds more definitive. Therefore the physician feels better obligated to pay attention to what the patient is saying.

[SaoirseRN]

We were taught "complains of" or c/o, but I've never liked how it sounded so on my own I adapted my charting. So I would say,

"Patient reports pain to..."

"Patient denies pain or discomfort" or "patient voices no concerns"

[Racer15, BSN, RN]

My hospital is not a fan of c/o. I usually just chart "pt reports blah blah blah" or "pt states" and then quote them. I think the line of thinking is that charting "complains of" makes it look like as though you don't take them seriously or think they're a whiny baby. Which maybe they are, but you don't want your charting to reflect that :)

[FineAgain]

Was going to bring up "COWS" but you all beat me to it. Glad my facility is not the only one who has made an issue of this, I would feel silly!

[morte, LPN, LVN]

endorses used in the sense of reports. First heard this from nurses from the Phil.

I agree that "patients reports ... " is probably a more neutral term than "complains of ..." But endorses? That's ... bizarre. Have not seen that used by any residents or med students in my hospital.

[GeneralJinjur]

Pts endorse suicidal or homocidal ideation, also self-injury. I've been hearing that one in psych since I graduated and started working there. I tend to use reports unless it is a physical complaint, aka HA.