Blog — Clinical Spanish

Spanish for gastroenterology nurses: the colonoscopy prep the patient did not follow because the instructions arrived in English, the upper GI bleed patient who said “me echó sangre” and the nurse documented hematemesis without asking volume or color, and the post-procedure sedation recovery when the patient says “estoy bien” because he does not want to be held longer

Alejandro Paredes is 62 years old. He was referred for a screening colonoscopy by his primary care physician after a positive fecal immunochemical test. The gastroenterology office mailed the prep instructions six days ago: a three-page PDF in English, sent to a household where no one reads English above a fourth-grade level. His daughter María translated what she could understand before she left for her evening shift at eleven o’clock: don’t eat after midnight, drink the white powder dissolved in water, don’t eat until after the procedure. Alejandro arrived at the endoscopy suite at 7:15 AM, fasted, and said yes to every prep-compliance question. The colonoscopist advanced the scope to the sigmoid colon and stopped. Brown liquid stool throughout. Moderate preparation at best. The procedure was terminated and rescheduled for six weeks. Alejandro took the day off work. His daughter took a morning off. The endoscopy suite lost a sixty-minute procedure slot. Three failure modes that repeat across every gastroenterology unit that serves a Spanish-speaking population.

Failure mode 1: The colonoscopy prep the patient did not follow because the instructions arrived in English

The most common procedure failure in gastroenterology units that serve Spanish-speaking patients is not refusal and is not apathy. It is incomplete preparation due to instructions that were never meaningfully delivered. Alejandro did not skip the prep. He completed what his daughter translated at eleven o’clock the night before. The problem is what the translation missed.

A standard split-dose colonoscopy preparation involves four distinct components, each with a different failure mode. None of them appear prominently in a translated summary of a three-page English prep sheet.

Component one: the two-day dietary restriction. Most split-dose prep protocols require a low-residue diet beginning two days before the procedure, transitioning to clear liquids only the day before. The dietary restriction is the component most commonly omitted in translated verbal summaries because it seems intuitive — “just eat light” — and because the consequences of violating it are not immediate. A patient who eats beans, tortillas with seeds, or fruit with skin two days before will arrive with residue in the proximal colon regardless of how well the prep solution worked. The dietary restriction conversation in patient Spanish:

“Dos días antes de la colonoscopía — el [day/date] — necesita comer solo cosas sin fibra: sin frijoles, sin verduras crudas, sin frutas con cáscara o semillas, sin pan de grano, sin arroz integral, sin nueces, sin palomitas. El pollo, el pescado, los huevos, el pan blanco, el arroz blanco cocido, el caldo de pollo sin grasa — esos sí puede comer. Nada de color rojo o morado — ni agua de jamaica, ni salsas rojas, ni gelatina roja — porque pueden verse como sangre durante el procedimiento.”

(Two days before the colonoscopy — on [day/date] — you need to eat only things without fiber: no beans, no raw vegetables, no fruits with skin or seeds, no grain bread, no brown rice, no nuts, no popcorn. Chicken, fish, eggs, white bread, cooked white rice, fat-free chicken broth — those are all fine. Nothing red or purple — not agua de jamaica, not red sauces, not red gelatin — because they can look like blood during the procedure.)

Naming the specific foods that are not allowed — frijoles, verduras crudas, fruta con cáscara — matters more than naming the category “fiber.” “Fibra” is a category. “Sin frijoles” is a food the patient knows.

Component two: the clear-liquid day. The day before the procedure is clear-liquids only — a rule that most patients understand at the level of “nothing to eat” but not at the level of “what counts as a clear liquid.” The explanation in patient Spanish:

“El día antes — el [day/date] — solo líquidos transparentes todo el día. Agua, caldo de pollo sin grasa, limonada sin pulpa, Gatorade blanco o amarillo, jugo de manzana sin pulpa. La regla es simple: si pone el vaso frente a la luz y puede ver a través del líquido, está bien. Si no puede ver a través — si está opaco o tiene color fuerte — no lo tome ese día. Nada de leche, nada de jugo de naranja, nada de atóle, nada de caldo con fideos.”

(The day before — on [day/date] — only clear liquids all day. Water, fat-free chicken broth, limeade without pulp, white or yellow Gatorade, apple juice without pulp. The rule is simple: if you hold the glass up to the light and you can see through the liquid, it is fine. If you cannot see through it — if it is opaque or has a strong color — do not drink it that day. No milk, no orange juice, no atole, no broth with noodles.)

The light-and-transparency test is a practical anchor the patient can apply in the kitchen without reading a label or remembering a category.

Component three: the split-dose timing. This is the component that most commonly produces the failed prep. In a split-dose protocol, the prep solution is divided into two doses taken twelve to fourteen hours apart. The second dose — taken the morning of the procedure, four to six hours before the scheduled time — is the one most commonly missed or taken too early. A patient who takes both doses the evening before believes he has completed the prep. He has not. The colonoscopy will find adequately cleared left colon and intact stool in the right colon.

The timing conversation in patient Spanish:

“Este preparado se hace en dos partes. La primera parte es mañana en la noche — a las [hora exacta] — y usted va a tomar la primera mitad de la solución. Va a sentir que necesita ir al baño muchas veces durante la noche — eso es exactamente lo que debe pasar. La segunda parte es la mañana del procedimiento — a las [hora exacta] — aunque sea muy temprano. Esta segunda parte es la más importante: sin ella, el lado derecho del colon no está lo suficientemente limpio y el médico no puede ver bien. Después de terminar la segunda parte, nada de tomar nada — ni agua — por cuatro horas antes de su cita. ¿Me puede decir a qué hora es su procedimiento?”

(This preparation is done in two parts. The first part is tomorrow evening — at [exact time] — and you are going to drink the first half of the solution. You are going to feel like you need to use the bathroom many times during the night — that is exactly what should happen. The second part is the morning of the procedure — at [exact time] — even if it is very early. This second part is the most important: without it, the right side of the colon is not clean enough and the doctor cannot see well. After finishing the second part, nothing to drink — not even water — for four hours before your appointment. Can you tell me what time your procedure is?)

Asking the patient to state the procedure time is not a formality. It surfaces whether the patient knows when to start the second dose, and it anchors the nurse’s instruction to a specific clock time rather than a relative interval the patient must calculate.

Component four: the endpoint that tells the patient whether the prep worked. The patient who takes both doses and goes to bed does not know whether the prep was adequate. The patient who takes both doses and checks his last output knows. The clear-water endpoint in patient Spanish:

“La señal de que el preparado funcionó es que lo último que salió era agua transparente — sin color, sin residuo, como agua del grifo. Si todavía había color amarillo oscuro, café, o partículas, el colon probablemente no está suficientemente limpio. Si eso pasa, llámenos antes de venir — no llegue esperando que el médico pueda hacer el procedimiento de todas formas. Si el colon no está limpio, el procedimiento no puede completarse y tenemos que reprogramar. Es mucho mejor llamarnos.”

(The sign that the preparation worked is that the last thing that came out was clear water — no color, no residue, like tap water. If it was still dark yellow, brown, or had particles, the colon is probably not clean enough. If that happens, call us before you come — do not arrive hoping the doctor can do the procedure anyway. If the colon is not clean, the procedure cannot be completed and we have to reschedule. It is much better to call us.)

The confirmation call that confirms nothing. The standard day-before confirmation call asks: “¿Completó el preparado?” The patient who took both doses the evening before says yes. The patient who forgot the second dose says yes because he believes he did everything. The patient who stopped the prep after the first dose because the cramps were severe says yes because stopping is what he decided to do. None of these answers is clinically useful.

The questions that surface inadequate preparation before the patient drives to the clinic:

“¿A qué hora tomó la primera parte del preparado anoche? ¿Cuántas veces fue al baño — fueron más de cinco veces? ¿Lo que salió al final era transparente, como agua, o todavía tenía color? ¿Ya preparó la segunda dosis para esta mañana? ¿Sabe exactamente a qué hora la tiene que tomar?”

(What time did you take the first part of the preparation last night? How many times did you go to the bathroom — was it more than five times? Was what came out at the end clear, like water, or did it still have color? Have you prepared the second dose for this morning? Do you know exactly what time you need to take it?)

The patient who answers “la primera dosis anoche y la segunda también anoche” (the first dose last night and the second also last night) has just told the nurse, without being asked directly, that the split-dose protocol was not followed. The prep can still be partially recovered: if the procedure is more than five hours away and the patient has not yet eaten, a same-day corrective dose of supplemental preparation may salvage the case. That conversation only happens if the confirmation call goes beyond “¿completó el preparado?”

Failure mode 2: The upper GI bleed patient who said “me echó sangre” and the nurse documented hematemesis without asking volume or color

Miguel Torres, 47, arrives in the gastroenterology unit via the emergency department. The triage note reads: “Patient reports hematemesis × 2 episodes this AM. Hemodynamically stable. GI consult placed.” The admitting GI nurse reads the note, opens the room, and begins the standard intake assessment. What the ED triage note does not contain: volume, color, trigger, timeline, or NSAID history. What Miguel said at triage: “me echó sangre esta mañana.” What the triage nurse wrote: hematemesis.

“Me echó sangre” is a common Mexican-Spanish idiom that describes an expulsion involving blood. It does not specify the mechanism (vomiting, coughing, or spitting), the volume (a teaspoon or a liter), the color (bright red or coffee-ground), or the presence or absence of a trigger. Each of these distinctions changes the differential diagnosis, the urgency of the GI consult, and the endoscopic strategy. Documenting it as “hematemesis” is a translation, not an assessment.

The abdominal pain assessment in Spanish post covers the history questions for the GI patient in pain. The GI bleed assessment is a different problem: the patient is not necessarily in pain, the most dangerous presentations are not always the most visually dramatic, and the four questions below create the clinical picture the chart needs before anyone picks up a scope.

Question one: the origin question. Hematemesis, hemoptysis, and oropharyngeal bleeding all present as “blood in the mouth” and all may be described by the patient as “me echó sangre.” They require different consultants, different imaging, and different management.

“Cuando dice que le echó sangre — ¿lo vomitó, como si viniera del estómago y hubiera arcada? ¿O lo tosió, como si viniera del pecho? ¿O lo escupió, como algo que tenía en la boca o en la garganta?”

(When you say blood came out — did you vomit it, like it was coming from the stomach and there was retching? Or did you cough it up, like it was coming from the chest? Or did you spit it out, like something that was in your mouth or throat?)

The patient who says “lo vomité, con arcada” (I vomited it, with retching) is describing a GI source. The patient who says “lo tosí” (I coughed it) needs a pulmonary evaluation before a GI scope. The patient who says “estaba en la boca cuando me desperté” (it was in my mouth when I woke up) may have an oropharyngeal or nasopharyngeal source, a postnasal drip that was swallowed and refluxed, or a nocturnal hematemesis episode with partial aspiration. The question takes fifteen seconds. Routing the wrong patient to the wrong consultant takes considerably longer.

Question two: the volume question. Volume is the single most important clinical variable in the GI bleed assessment, and it is the one most reliably missed when the history is taken through a language barrier. “Bastante” (a lot) and “poquita” (a little) are not volume estimates.

“¿Cuánta sangre salió — fue como una cucharadita, como dos cucharadas, como media taza, o más? ¿O fue tanta que llenó el lavabo?”

(How much blood came out — was it like a teaspoon, like two tablespoons, like half a cup, or more? Or was there so much it filled the sink?)

Kitchen measures are the right anchors here: cucharadita (teaspoon), cucharada (tablespoon), media taza (half cup), taza (cup). The patient who says “como dos cucharadas — no mucho” is describing a volume that is clinically different from the patient who says “llenó el lavabo.” Both answers begin with “me echó sangre.”

Question three: the color and character question. The color of blood in upper GI bleeding tells the nurse something specific about the bleeding rate and the distance between the source and the exit.

“¿De qué color era la sangre — era rojo brillante, como sangre fresca? ¿O era más oscura — café o negra? ¿O parecía posos de café — pedacitos oscuros mezclados con líquido?”

(What color was the blood — was it bright red, like fresh blood? Or was it darker — brown or black? Or did it look like coffee grounds — small dark bits mixed with liquid?)

Bright red hematemesis indicates active bleeding with minimal transit time — the blood has not been in contact with gastric acid long enough to be oxidized. This is the presentation of a variceal bleed, an arterial ulcer bleed, or a Mallory-Weiss tear with active arterial involvement. Coffee-ground emesis (“posos de café”) indicates blood that has been in the stomach long enough to be acted on by hydrochloric acid — the classic finding of a gastric or duodenal ulcer bleed that is slow enough to allow transit. Coffee-ground emesis with a stable hemoglobin is a different acuity from bright red hematemesis in any volume.

The phrase “posos de café” (coffee grounds) is widely understood in Mexican-Spanish-speaking communities and is the correct patient-Spanish term for this finding. It does not require translation. The nurse who uses it will be understood.

Question four: the trigger and timeline question. The three most common upper GI bleed presentations have different triggers and different prodromes. Surfacing them takes three questions:

“Justo antes de que le echara sangre, ¿había estado vomitando o haciendo arcadas — sin sangre primero? ¿O la sangre salió sin que hubiera nada antes?”

(Just before the blood came out, had you been vomiting or retching — without blood first? Or did the blood come out without anything before it?)

The Mallory-Weiss presentation is retching first, then a blood streak: the tear occurs at the gastroesophageal junction under the pressure of forceful vomiting. The spontaneous large-volume hematemesis without preceding emesis is a variceal presentation until proven otherwise.

“¿Antes de que le echara sangre, tuvo algún ardor o dolor en el estómago — en los últimos días o semanas?”

(Before the blood came out, did you have any burning or pain in the stomach — in the last few days or weeks?)

Epigastric burning or pain preceding hematemesis by days to weeks is the typical peptic ulcer prodrome. The patient who says “me dolía aquí desde hace como una semana” (it’s been hurting here for about a week) and points to the epigastrium is giving the nurse a pre-bleed pain history that changes the differential.

“¿Ha tomado aspirina, Advil, Motrin, naproxeno, Aleve, o ibuprofeno — o cualquier pastilla para el dolor que no sea Tylenol — en los últimos días?”

(Have you taken aspirin, Advil, Motrin, naproxen, Aleve, or ibuprofen — or any pain medication that is not Tylenol — in the last few days?)

NSAID use is the most common precipitant of gastric and duodenal ulcer bleeding. It is the history question most consistently missed when the intake is taken through a language barrier or through a family member who does not know which medications are in the medicine cabinet. Naming the brand names (Advil, Motrin, Aleve) alongside the generic names matters: many patients do not recognize “ibuprofeno” as the same medication as “Advil.”

What these four questions produce. The variceal picture: large-volume bright red spontaneous hematemesis, no preceding NSAID use, no epigastric pain history, with liver disease background (“¿le han dicho alguna vez que tiene el hígado dañado, cirrosis, o hepatitis?” / Have you ever been told you have liver damage, cirrhosis, or hepatitis?). This is an endoscopic emergency. The ulcer picture: coffee-ground emesis, smaller volumes, epigastric burning preceding the bleed by days, NSAID or aspirin use. This is an urgent GI consultation. The Mallory-Weiss picture: small-volume bright red streak after forceful retching in the context of alcohol use or an acute illness that caused repeated vomiting. This is a GI consultation with a different scope strategy.

The same phrase — “me echó sangre” — can describe all three. The documentation that follows the four questions is a clinical history. The documentation that follows the translated phrase alone is a translation.

Failure mode 3: The post-procedure sedation recovery when the patient says “estoy bien” because he does not want to be held longer

Alejandro is back in the endoscopy suite six weeks after the failed prep. The instructions were reviewed in Spanish on the phone two days before and again the morning of the procedure. The prep was adequate. Two tubular polyps — 4 mm and 6 mm — were removed by cold snare polypectomy. The procedure was forty-three minutes. Sedation: propofol 120 mg IV total, fentanyl 75 mcg IV, midazolam 2 mg IV.

He is in the recovery bay at 9:18 AM. His wife has been in the waiting room since 7 AM. She needs to pick up their grandchildren from school at 2 PM. It is 9:18 AM. She has texted twice. The GI recovery nurse approaches at 9:42 AM, twenty-four minutes post-procedure. Alejandro is alert, eyes open, answering questions. “¿Cómo se siente, señor Paredes?”

He says: “Estoy bien. Ya puedo irme.”

This is the recovery-bay “estoy bien” — and it is not a clinical finding. It is a social response to a social question from a man who wants to go home, whose wife is waiting, who is aware that other patients around him are being discharged, and who has no subjective experience of impairment because midazolam-induced anterograde amnesia does not produce a subjective experience of impairment. The midazolam is working correctly. That is the problem.

What post-propofol and benzodiazepine recovery actually requires assessing: three domains that cannot be trusted to patient self-report.

Domain one: ambulation stability. Propofol plus benzodiazepine sedation produces cerebellar and vestibular suppression that is not apparent while the patient is seated or supine. It becomes apparent when the patient stands and takes a step. The patient who feels fine sitting in the recovery chair may have a wide-based gait, step deviation on turning, or orthostatic hypotension that will produce a fall in the parking lot forty-five minutes after discharge.

The assessment phrasing that explains the clinical rationale without making the patient feel suspected of being impaired:

“Señor Paredes, antes de que nos vayamos necesito que se pare y camine conmigo hasta el baño y regrese. No es que yo piense que algo está mal — es que el medicamento que le dimos puede afectar el equilibrio de una forma que no se siente cuando está sentado pero sí se nota cuando se para. Es parte del protocolo de todas las altas después de una colonoscopía.”

(Mr. Paredes, before we go I need you to stand and walk with me to the bathroom and back. It is not that I think something is wrong — it is that the medication we gave you can affect balance in a way you do not feel sitting down but that does show up when you stand. It is part of the discharge protocol for everyone after a colonoscopy.)

Naming the protocol as universal removes the implication that the patient is failing a test. The nurse watches for three findings during the walk: the patient who drifts to one side on turns, the patient who grabs the wall spontaneously, and the patient who takes a wider stance than he did when walking in. Any of these extends the recovery observation period. The patient who walks steadily to the bathroom and back without reaching for support has passed the ambulation component of the discharge assessment.

Domain two: retention capacity. Midazolam produces anterograde amnesia as a primary pharmacological effect. This is not a complication. It is how the drug works — the same mechanism that makes procedural sedation tolerable (patients do not encode the procedure) also prevents the patient from encoding what the nurse says in the recovery bay. The patient who hears discharge instructions in the recovery bay at 9:45 AM and who is asked about them at 10:30 AM in the parking lot will often report that no one told him anything.

This is not non-compliance. It is pharmacology. The nurse who delivers discharge instructions only to the patient and documents “patient verbalized understanding” has documented a conversation that the patient’s brain may not retain.

The explanation that addresses this directly without alarming the patient:

“Le voy a decir algo sobre uno de los medicamentos que le dimos: se llama midazolam, y hace que sea más difícil guardar información nueva por unas horas después del procedimiento. Usted está despierto y me entiende — pero es posible que en una hora no recuerde lo que le digo ahora. Por eso voy a darle las instrucciones a usted y a la persona que lo lleva a casa, y se las voy a dar por escrito también. ¿Está aquí su esposa? ¿Puedo hablar con ella también?”

(I am going to tell you something about one of the medications we gave you: it is called midazolam, and it makes it harder to retain new information for a few hours after the procedure. You are awake and you understand me — but it is possible that in an hour you will not remember what I am telling you now. That is why I am going to give the instructions to you and to the person taking you home, and I am also going to give them in writing. Is your wife here? Can I speak with her as well?)

The discharge instruction delivery then happens with both Alejandro and his wife present. The nurse faces the wife for the critical instructions. The chart documents that instructions were delivered to both patient and responsible driver.

The explanation to the driver specifically:

“Señora, necesito hablar con usted también — el medicamento que le dimos a su esposo afecta la memoria por unas horas después del procedimiento, así que lo que yo le diga a él es posible que no lo recuerde más tarde. Necesito que usted sepa estas tres cosas porque usted va a estar con él esta tarde.”

(Ma’am, I need to speak with you as well — the medication we gave your husband affects memory for a few hours after the procedure, so what I tell him he may not remember later. I need you to know these three things because you will be with him this afternoon.)

Domain three: temporal orientation to the discharge decision. The nurse does not need to administer a formal orientation screen in the recovery bay. The question is simpler: does the patient understand why he came here today and what was done? The patient who cannot describe, even approximately, why he came to the hospital is showing active anterograde amnesia for events that preceded the procedure — which may indicate a more prolonged effect than expected — or retrograde amnesia from the sedation level. Either way, this patient is not ready for discharge.

The embedded orientation check:

“Señor Paredes, antes de irnos: ¿recuerda por qué vino hoy? ¿Recuerda qué le hicieron? ¿Sabe quién lo va a llevar a casa?”

(Mr. Paredes, before we go: do you remember why you came today? Do you remember what they did? Do you know who is taking you home?)

These three questions are not a cognitive test. They are a functional screen for the three orientation anchors the patient needs for the discharge decision to be meaningful. The patient who says “la colonoscopía — me quitaron unos pólipos — mi esposa” (the colonoscopy, they removed some polyps, my wife) is oriented to the discharge context. The patient who says “creo que fue algo del estómago — no sé quién me viene a buscar” (I think it was something with the stomach, I don’t know who is picking me up) is not ready for discharge regardless of vital signs.

The three post-procedure instructions in patient Spanish that must reach the driver, not just the patient.

“Hay tres cosas importantes para el resto del día. Primera: no maneje, no opere maquinaria, y no tome ninguna decisión legal o financiera importante el día de hoy — el medicamento que le dimos sigue en el cuerpo por varias horas aunque usted se sienta bien. Segunda: puede sentir gases o presión en la barriga — es el aire que usamos durante el procedimiento. Camine un poquito en su casa para ayudarlo a salir; es normal y pasa solo. Tercera — y esta es la más importante —: si nota sangre en las heces en los próximos tres días, o si tiene dolor fuerte en la barriga, fiebre de más de 38 grados, o mareo que no se le quita: no llame a la clínica. Vaya directo a urgencias.”

(There are three important things for the rest of the day. First: do not drive, do not operate machinery, and do not make any important legal or financial decisions today — the medication we gave you stays in the body for several hours even if you feel fine. Second: you may feel gas or pressure in your belly — it is the air we used during the procedure. Walk a little at home to help it come out; it is normal and goes away on its own. Third — and this is the most important one —: if you see blood in your stool in the next three days, or if you have severe abdominal pain, fever above 38 degrees, or dizziness that does not go away: do not call the clinic. Go directly to the emergency room.)

The post-polypectomy bleeding warning that requires a usable threshold. The generic “puede haber un poquito de sangre” (there may be a little blood) does not give the patient a threshold for action. A tablespoon of blood in a toilet bowl looks like a lot of blood. A patient who was told “a little is normal” may interpret a tablespoon as within normal and wait. That delay can turn a manageable post-polypectomy bleed into a hemodynamically significant one. Post-polypectomy bleeding can occur up to fourteen days after the procedure.

The explanation that gives a usable decision threshold:

“Le quitamos dos pólipos hoy. Un pólipo es como un pequeño bulto en la pared del intestino — lo quitamos con una herramienta que corta y sella el área. En las próximas dos semanas, mientras esa zona está sanando, puede aparecer un poco de sangre en las heces. Una pequeña mancha — como una cucharadita — es normal y no require que llame. Lo que no es normal — y si esto pasa, usted no nos llama a nosotros, va directo a urgencias — es si el inodoro se tiñe de rojo, si las heces son negras y como alquitrán, o si siente mareo o le falta el aire. Esos son los tres signos que necesitan urgencias, no una llamada.”

(We removed two polyps today. A polyp is like a small bump on the wall of the intestine — we removed it with a tool that cuts and seals the area. In the next two weeks, while that area heals, a little blood may appear in your stool. A small spot — like a teaspoon — is normal and does not require a call. What is not normal — and if this happens, you do not call us, you go directly to the emergency room — is if the toilet turns red, if the stool is black and tar-like, or if you feel dizzy or short of breath. Those are the three signs that need the emergency room, not a phone call.)

The “urgencias, no a nosotros” instruction is the sentence that prevents a delayed-presentation post-polypectomy bleed from becoming catastrophic. Many patients will call the GI office during business hours and wait for a callback. The nurse who says “llámenos si tiene problemas” (call us if you have problems) has handed the triage decision back to the patient who is bleeding. The nurse who says “urgencias, no a nosotros” and gives three specific threshold signs has closed the triage gap.

The discharge instructions in Spanish post covers the return-precaution conversation across ED and inpatient settings. The GI-specific discharge adds two elements the general discharge post does not cover: the polypectomy bleeding window (up to two weeks, not the standard 72-hour return-precaution frame) and the urgencias-not-us instruction that is the single most important sentence in the post-polypectomy discharge.

The medication reconciliation in Spanish post covers the NSAID and anticoagulant history that is the most common missed precipitant for GI bleeds in Spanish-speaking patients — the patient who takes ibuprofen every day for knee pain and does not mention it because “it is over the counter” and the patient who is on aspirin per the cardiologist and does not mention it because “aspirin is not a medication.” The GI bleed assessment is the downstream consequence of missed medication reconciliation; the medication reconciliation post covers the upstream prevention.

The pain management in Spanish reference page covers the GI pain vocabulary — ardor, cólico, presión, calambres — that surfaces during the endoscopy pre-procedure assessment and the post-procedure recovery when the patient has had a polypectomy site that is tender on palpation.

Want these phrases for your next gastroenterology shift? Download the free 50-phrase clinical Spanish PDF, and practice the scenarios with voiced AI patients before you walk in.