BOS edition 3 changed the hyphen rule

• Haunted by the metric system--half-centimeter or 0.5 cm--which is correct? - starstruck
  • I'd go with 0.5 cm flap NM - My thoughts
    • 0.5-cm flap - needs the hyphen - sammypot
      • BOS edition 3 changed the hyphen rule - smurf

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Just thought I would pass on some information recently sent to me.

AAMT BOS  (Book of Style), 2nd edition

periods
Do not use periods within or at the end of most abbreviations, including acronyms, abbreviated units of measure, and brief forms. Use a period at the end of abbreviated English units of measure if they may be misread without the period. Better still, write out most English units of measure, thereby avoiding this use of a period at the end of an abbreviation.

wbc
WBC
mg
exam
prep
inch preferred to in. (Do not use in meaning inch without a period.)

However, use periods in lowercase drug-related abbreviations.
b.i.d.
q.4 h. = note it is "q.4" and then a space before the "h."
p.o.
p.r.n.

If a sentence terminates with an abbreviation that requires a period, do not add another period.
He takes Valium 5 mg q.a.m.
not He takes Valium 5 mg q.a.m..

plurals
Use a lowercase s without an apostrophe to form the plural of capitalized abbreviations, acronyms, and brief forms.
EEGs
PVCs
CABGs
exams

Use 's to form the plural of lowercase abbreviations.
rbc's
Use 's to form the plural of single-letter abbreviations.
X's

Hyphens and adjectives

15-year-old boy
The patient is a 33-year-old.
2-year 5-month-old child (note no comma in this)
5-1/2-year-old girl
1-month course
.38-caliber pistol - note no leading zero here - see below
two-thirds full
one-half normal saline
half-normal saline
She was panic-stricken
20-pack-year history
self-medicated
shell-like
 
For quantities less than 1, place a zero before the decimal point, except when the number could never equal 1 (e.g., in bullet calibers and in certain statistical expressions such as correlation coefficients and statistical probability).
0.75 mg
.22-caliber rifle

I'd stick with the national standard for clarity's sake unless instructed to stringently follow BOS.  There is staging that is very involved and would look convoluted without spacing in my opinion; i.e, pT2a pN3 MX, etc.

it would imply that the colostomy bag was bleeding, not blood coming from the colostomy. 

Tooooooooooo long ago. :)

I'll have to remember that in case I ever have the need to go back to neuro.  Not one of my favorites, kinda sad, but okay at the time.

When I said "cool" I really meant it.  I like to pass through word help occasionally.  You never know what you're going to find.

Every little bit helps.

... scored in the low average range. Non-verbal problem solving was low average.

Anyone know?