critical

Medical states or medical conditions are used to describe a patient’s condition in a hospital. These terms are most commonly used by the news media and are rarely used by physicians, who in their daily business prefer to deal with medical problems in greater detail. Either or both of two aspects of the patient’s state may be reported. First, the patient’s current state may be reported, e.g., as being good or serious. Second, the patient’s short-term prognosis may be reported, e.g., that the patient is improving, is getting worse, or that no immediate change is expected (stable).