Abbreviations

Q. Hello. I’m editing this passage: “I liked not ever knowing when I was going to be UA’d, because in the beginning of my treatment it made me stay off the pills.” UA stands for “urinalysis.” Is it correct to include an apostrophe in “UA’d”? Would appreciate your help very much.

A. Yes, that looks right to me. “UA” in your sentence is like the verb “OD” (for “overdose”), for which Merriam-Webster gives the forms “OD’d or ODed,” and “OD’ing.” “UAed” would also work, if you want to avoid the apostrophe (which marks the omission of the letter e).

[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]