Which sentence is the most concise and clear?

Which sentence is the most concise and clear?

• A. The patient was unresponsive; the nurse started CPR immediately.
• B. The patient was unresponsive, so CPR was started by the nurse.
• C. The patient was unresponsive; CPR began by the nurse.
• D. The patient was unresponsive. The nurse started CPR immediately.

Answer: (A)

Conciseness and clarity in clinical writing come from using active voice, direct structure, and tight punctuation. The sentence that states the patient is unresponsive and then says the nurse started CPR immediately does this best: it clearly assigns the action to the nurse and places immediacy right after the action, all in one compact line. The semicolon links two closely related ideas without extra filler, preserving the urgent flow. In other options, the action is described in passive voice or split into two sentences, which adds words and weakens immediacy.

Conciseness and clarity in clinical writing come from using active voice, direct structure, and tight punctuation. The sentence that states the patient is unresponsive and then says the nurse started CPR immediately does this best: it clearly assigns the action to the nurse and places immediacy right after the action, all in one compact line. The semicolon links two closely related ideas without extra filler, preserving the urgent flow. In other options, the action is described in passive voice or split into two sentences, which adds words and weakens immediacy.