Perhaps on some occasion we have heard in some news or read in some news that a certain person is admitted to the hospital for a serious injury, that he or she is critical or that the prognosis is favorable or uncertain.

It is also possible that these types of terms come to us because either we or a loved one has been admitted for some reason. These concepts refer to the state of health and the expectation or prognosis of someone who suffers some type of illness , accident or medical condition. And the truth is that despite the fact that generally when we talk about a serious or slight illness or a reserved prognosis we can get an approximate idea of what it implies, we do not always have total knowledge of what is being meant.

Knowing this type of terms can be relevant in our daily life and that is why, in a generic way, throughout this article we intend to collect a series of concepts referring to the different types of medical states and prognoses that are sometimes communicated to us.

Types of prognosis and severity of disease

A person’s health status refers to the medical or health conditions that he or she sustains, which may favour, maintain or harm in different ways his or her expectations of survival, life expectancy and ability to achieve or maintain well-being.

When we speak of state of health we refer to a set of elements of a fundamentally biological nature, although psychological factors may also come into play. Although other aspects such as the psychosocial sphere also influence and may be symptomatic and even determinant for the state of health of a person, in principle they would not fall within this concept.

When an illness, injury or medical condition occurs, the health of the subject in question will be compromised and impaired. The presence of such an illness implies an alteration that can be categorized in different degrees according to its severity. The following are some of the main medical terms that refer to how a person is in relation to the severity of a specific condition

1. Mild illness or mild injury

We use the term mild state to refer to a state in which the affectation, illness or injury suffered by the patient in question is not serious and an early recovery without sequelae is expected. Recovery is usually calculated in about fifteen days. The prognosis is good .

An example is found in minor illnesses such as a cold or sticking an object in an uncomplicated area, such as the skin.

2. Less serious condition

Classifying a disorder, disease or medical situation as having a “less severe” prognosis means that although a rapid recovery is not expected, it is not expected to be life-threatening . Recovery can take between two weeks and a month.

3. Serious illness or injury

The fact that a disease or disorder is serious means that the disorder is clearly dangerous to the patient’s life or functionality . The risk of death is present, or the injury may involve the loss or impairment of some relevant capacity or skill of the person (for example, the ability to walk). Recovery usually takes more than one month.

Someone in serious condition could be a patient with pneumonia.

4. Very serious condition, illness or injury

A very serious condition means that the existence of a certain problem, affectation, injury or disease has a high level of probability of death. An example of this is when a patient has multiple internal injuries but is stabilized and is still being considered for salvation.

5. Critical state

Another term for a patient’s condition/prognosis is critical. In this case, this concept is used to indicate that the vital signs of the person in question are unstable, with immediate risk to his or her life despite the possibility of recovery.

The subject is in a crucial and extremely dangerous moment , being highly probable the death although depending on his response to the treatment he could recover. Generally the patient would be in the Intensive Care Unit or ICU, being highly monitored.

An example of a critical state could be found in patients admitted to hospital who suffer a cardiovascular accident or a heart attack, in the early stages. The person would be at risk of death, but depending on the treatment he or she could show improvement and even be saved.

6. Acute state

The presence of a clear and defined symptomatology that occurs in a limited and generally short period of time (never exceeding six months). Being in an acute phase of an illness does not imply that it is more or less serious, implying rather that the evolution of the illness is rapid over time (the conclusion of the illness may be complete recovery or death of the patient).

7. Chronic disease

The fact that an illness or injury is chronic means that the illness or disorder will be present for the rest of the subject’s life from the time of its diagnosis, and that the alteration is of long duration. In general, all illnesses that last for more than six months are considered chronic. Many of them could be fatal if there were no medical means for their control.

Some examples of chronic diseases are disorders of genetic origin, diabetes or HIV at present (being controlled by medication).

8. Terminal condition or disease

We are facing a terminal problem when the condition or injury presented by the patient implies his death in a relatively short period , usually around six months (although it can be prolonged), and it is expected that this alteration is the cause of his death. The best known example is cancer with late-stage metastasis.

The medical prognosis

As we have seen above, there are multiple categories that allow us to determine the impact that different diseases have or may have. This state would refer to the present moment, but it is the basis that allows us to try to predict how the health of the person or patient in question will evolve.

Such a prediction of the most likely course an illness or injury can take and the chances of overcoming it is known as the prognosis. This prognosis is derived from the available data set on the patient’s current status, history, environment and the disease or injury in question.

Types of prognosis

As with the state of a disease, we can find different types of prognosis. The prognosis itself does not necessarily have to be related to the disorder the subject presents (although this does have an influence), but rather to the expectation that is held in each specific case. Thus, for example, two patients with the same type of cancer may have different prognoses .

1. Favorable or good prognosis

A favorable or good prognosis is considered in those cases where the existing evidence suggests that the course of the disease the patient is suffering from leads to recovery.

2. Moderate to intermediate prognosis

This type of prognosis indicates that the expectation regarding the patient’s state of health is not extremely positive but that there are no data that suggest the possibility of death in the immediate future . It may, however, imply the presence of functional limitations or even some type of disability.

3. Severe prognosis, or poor prognosis

When we speak of a serious prognosis, we are referring, as its name indicates, to the fact that the conditions of a given patient lead one to believe that there is a severe risk for his death or for the existence of severe limitations in his life .

4. Reserved prognosis

The term prognosis is used to refer to a situation in which the doctors and professionals in charge of a patient are unable to determine the possible evolution or expectation of the outcome of the patient’s condition . Typical of moments when there is not enough information to be able to speculate on the future of the patient or when there is a risk of the appearance of complications.

An example of this can be found in the prognosis of a patient who has suffered a traffic accident and is unconscious and with a head injury, but whose degree of affectation is not yet known.