SAMPLE History

SAMPLE history is an mnemonic acronym for first responders to remember key questions for patient assessment. The history is usually taken along with vital signs. This is used for alert patients, but often much of this information can also be obtained from the family of an unresponsive patient.


 * S: Signs and Symptoms
 * A: Allergies
 * M: Medications
 * P: Pertinent past history
 * L: Last oral intake (or Last ins and outs)
 * E: Events leading up to (the emergency).

Signs and Symptoms
Signs are conditions you can see, such as a hematoma (bruise) or laceration. Symptoms are what the patient feels and tells you about, as in "my head hurts".

Allergies
When asking a patient about allergies it is important to make the distinction between medical allergies and non-medical allergies. Some allergies that may not seem medical in nature are important however, such as peanut allergies since many asthma inhalers contain peanut by-products. Common abbreviations used when recording that a patient has no allergies include NKA (No Known Allergies) and NKDA (No Known DRUG Allergies).

Medications
A list of medications that a patient is on is important information to have, since the medications can give you an idea of what medical conditions a patient may have but hasn't told you about, as well as ensuring that doctors don't prescribe another medicine that conflicts with a medication that a person is taking. An example of this is the dangerous relationship between Sildenafil (Viagra) and Nitroglycerine that can cause a person's blood pressure to bottom out.

Pertinent Past History
A patient's medical history is a valuable tool in identifying or diagnosing a medical condition. For instance, if a patient has a long cardiac history, you would tend to have a higher level of suspicion for a complaint of difficulty breathing when there are no other outward signs.

Last Oral Intake
Knowing the last time a patient ate or drank, and what it was can help identify a patients condition. For instance with a diabetic patient who is behaving erratically and states they haven't eaten in 8 hours, you might be prompted to check their blood sugar level.

Events leading up to (the emergency)
Having a clear history of symptom onset or how an injury occurred helps in identifying possible life-threatening conditions.