Meaning & use
chief complaint
Last updated
UK/ˌtʃiːf kəmˈpleɪnt/
US/ˌtʃif kəmˈpleɪnt/
Meaning
nouncountablemedical
The main symptom or problem that a patient gives as the reason for seeking medical care.
Grammar: Usually singular: the patient's chief complaint.
Patterns
- the patient's chief complaint
- chief complaint of something
Her chief complaint was a sharp pain in the knee.
The nurse recorded the chief complaint on the chart.
His chief complaint of dizziness led to more tests.
Word forms
| plural | chief complaints |
|---|
Common combinations
- record the chief complaint
- The triage nurse recorded the chief complaint.
- chief complaint of chest pain
- He arrived with a chief complaint of chest pain.
- patient's chief complaint
- The patient's chief complaint was a persistent cough.
- present with a chief complaint
- She presented with a chief complaint of fever.
Synonyms and how they differ
- presenting complaint
- Presenting complaint is the British equivalent and means almost the same.
- main symptom
- Main symptom is plain language, while chief complaint is the formal medical term.
- reason for visit
- Reason for visit is broader and could include routine checkups.
Word family
Commonly confused: chief complaint or diagnosis?
chief complaint vs diagnosis
A diagnosis is the doctor's conclusion, while the chief complaint is what the patient reports.
Practice
In a medical note, the chief complaint is ___.
Choose one answer.
It records the patient's main problem in their own words. A diagnosis comes from the doctor, and it is not about billing or service.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chief complaint”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.