DOA
Medical abbreviation · Emergency Medicine
| Stands for | Dead on arrival |
|---|---|
| Categories | Medical |
DOA stands for Dead on arrival, an emergency medicine abbreviation also used in government and business.
Term for a person found to be dead when EMS arrives or when brought to the emergency department, with no resuscitation attempted or indicated. It appears in EMS, hospital and police records.
Example: DOA: obvious signs of death, dependent lividity and rigor; medical examiner notified.
Usage notes
EMS protocols list conditions in which resuscitation is not started, such as decapitation, decomposition, rigor mortis or dependent lividity. Deaths outside a physician's care are usually reported to the medical examiner or coroner. In everyday speech, DOA also describes a product or plan that fails at launch.
Related abbreviations
More emergency medicine abbreviations
- CTAS – Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale
- DCAP-BTLS – Deformities, contusions, abrasions, punctures/penetrations, burns…
- DNACPR – Do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation
- DNAR – Do not attempt resuscitation
- DNI – Do not intubate
- DNR – Do not resuscitate
- DPL – Diagnostic peritoneal lavage
- eFAST – Extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma
- EMD – Emergency medical dispatcher
- EMS – Emergency medical services
- EMTALA – Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act
- ENA – Emergency Nurses Association
See all 97 emergency medicine abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.