Contraindication
Pronunciation: kon-trah-in-dih-KAY-shun
A clinical condition, characteristic, or circumstance that makes a particular aesthetic procedure inadvisable or unsafe for a given patient, routinely listed in consent forms and treatment protocols.
Full Definition
A contraindication is any condition that renders a specific treatment inadvisable because the risk of harm outweighs the potential benefit. In aesthetic dermatology, contraindications are categorised as absolute (treatment must not be performed, e.g., known allergy to filler constituents) or relative (treatment requires modification or heightened caution, e.g., active skin infection near the treatment site). They are a mandatory component of informed consent documents, patient screening questionnaires, and device or product labeling. Editors must preserve the distinction between 'absolute contraindication' and 'relative contraindication' and should not generalise both as simply 'contraindication' in formal clinical documents. The abbreviated form 'CI' is used in some clinical records.
Usage
Usage note: In clinical documentation, always qualify 'contraindication' as 'absolute' or 'relative' where the distinction is clinically relevant; leaving it unqualified can create ambiguity.
In Context
- "Active cold sores in the perioral region constitute an absolute contraindication to lip filler treatment." — Informed consent form
- "The screening checklist identifies both absolute and relative contraindications before any laser procedure." — Patient screening questionnaire