MCI
Abbreviation with 3 meanings
| Stands for | Mass-casualty incident |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 3 |
| Categories | Government & Politics, Medical, Transportation & Travel |
MCI has three meanings. The most common are Mass-casualty incident (emergency services) and Mild cognitive impairment (neurology); it can also stand for Kansas City International Airport.
Meanings of MCI at a glance
| # | MCI stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mass-casualty incident | Government & Politics › Emergency Services |
| 2 | Mild cognitive impairment | Medical › Neurology |
| 3 | Kansas City International Airport | Transportation & Travel › Airport Code |
1. Mass-casualty incident
Government & Politics · Emergency Services Abbreviations · also used in medicine
Emergency in which the number of patients overwhelms the responding agencies' normal resources, such as a bus crash, building collapse or mass shooting. MCI declarations trigger triage, extra ambulances and hospital notifications.
Example: Command is declaring an MCI; we have at least 20 patients from the train derailment.
Responders sort patients using triage systems such as START, tagging them by priority with colored tags. Hospitals activate surge plans when an MCI is announced. What counts as an MCI depends on local resources; a rural area may declare one with only a few patients. MCI is also the IATA code for Kansas City International Airport.
2. Mild cognitive impairment
Medical · Neurology Abbreviations
Decline in memory or other thinking skills greater than expected for age, noticeable to the person and others and measurable on testing, but not severe enough to interfere significantly with independent daily life. It can be an early stage of Alzheimer's or another dementia, or remain stable.
Example: MoCA 23 with impaired delayed recall but independent in all activities: amnestic MCI, follow-up in 12 months.
In clinic-based studies roughly 10 to 15 percent of people with MCI progress to dementia each year, while some improve, particularly when a reversible cause such as depression, sleep apnea or medication effects is found. Amnestic MCI, affecting memory, is most associated with Alzheimer's. Anti-amyloid drugs are approved for MCI or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's confirmed by biomarkers.
3. Kansas City International Airport
Transportation & Travel · Airport Code Abbreviations
Kansas City's airport, about 15 miles northwest of downtown Kansas City, Missouri. A new single terminal, opened in February 2023, replaced the much-criticized horseshoe-shaped terminals of 1972.
Example: Gate-side parking at the old MCI terminals was famous, but security there was a nightmare.
ICAO code KMCI. The code comes from the airport's original name, Mid-Continent International Airport. Its former design placed gates just steps from the curb, convenient before modern security screening but impractical afterward. In emergency services, MCI means a mass-casualty incident, an unrelated meaning.
Related abbreviations
More emergency services abbreviations
- LFB – London Fire Brigade
- LMR – Land mobile radio
- LODD – Line-of-duty death
- LZ – Landing zone
- NENA – National Emergency Number Association
- NFPA – National Fire Protection Association
- NG911 – Next Generation 911
- NIMS – National Incident Management System
See all 72 emergency services abbreviations →
More neurology abbreviations
- LMN – Lower motor neuron
- LOC – Loss of consciousness
- LP – Lumbar puncture
- LVO – Large vessel occlusion
- MG – Myasthenia gravis
- MMSE – Mini-Mental State Examination
- MND – Motor neuron disease
- MoCA – Montreal Cognitive Assessment
See all 131 neurology abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.