AlphaMED Resources · https://alphamedicine.uk/Resources/glossary/acute-chronic
Acute vs chronic
Acute describes a condition that comes on suddenly and lasts a short time. Chronic describes a condition that lasts a long time.
Summary
- Acute pain is generally sudden in onset and lasts a relatively short time, for example after an injury or an operation, and normally settles as the body heals.
- Acute and chronic describe how long a condition lasts. A short episode can be severe, and a long term condition can be mild.
- Chronic pain is pain that endures for at least three months, the period used in NICE's definition of the condition.
- The NHS uses a longer frame for long term conditions. A long term physical health condition requires ongoing management over a period of years or decades, and cannot currently be cured.
Interview questions
- What is the difference between an acute and a chronic condition?
- A patient has had back pain for six months and is worried it will never go away. How would you explain the difference to them?
- Should the NHS plan care for long term conditions differently from care for sudden illness, and what would be lost either way?
Sources
- uhbristol.nhs.ukuhbristol.nhs.uk/…/acute-and-chronic-pain
- digital.nhs.ukdigital.nhs.uk/…/chronic-pain
- archive.datadictionary.nhs.ukarchive.datadictionary.nhs.uk/…/long_term_physical_health_condition.html
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