NKDA

Medical abbreviation · Nursing

NKDA
Stands forNo known drug allergies
CategoriesMedical

NKDA stands for No known drug allergies, a nursing abbreviation.

Allergy status recorded when the patient reports no allergic reactions to any medication. It appears on admission forms, medication records, surgical checklists and prescriptions, and must be confirmed before drugs are given.

Example: Allergies: NKDA. Home meds reconciled with pharmacy, no changes.

Usage notes

NKDA covers drugs only; food, latex and environmental allergies need separate questions, which is why some charts use NKA instead. Electronic records usually require an explicit entry because a blank allergy field is ambiguous. Intolerances such as nausea from codeine are not true allergies but should still be documented with the reaction.

More nursing abbreviations

  • NCP – Nursing care plan
  • NCS – No concentrated sweets
  • NDx – Nursing diagnosis
  • NGT – Nasogastric tube
  • NIC – Nursing Interventions Classification
  • NKA – No known allergies
  • NKFA – No known food allergies
  • NOC – Nursing Outcomes Classification
  • NPO – Nil per os (nothing by mouth)
  • NPWT – Negative pressure wound therapy
  • OASIS – Outcome and Assessment Information Set
  • OGT – Orogastric tube

See all 90 nursing abbreviations →

This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.