Which of the following is the expansion for the acronym 'HPI'?

• A. Hereditary patient information
• B. History of patient injury
• C. History of present illness
• D. Hypertension information

Answer: (C)

In patient assessment, HPI stands for History of Present Illness—the detailed narrative of the current complaint or episode. It covers how the problem began, what symptoms are present, how severe they are, how they’ve progressed, and what factors worsen or relieve them. This helps shape immediate decisions about treatment and prioritization in the field.

The other options refer to different aspects of a patient’s medical background or unrelated information. History of hereditary factors would be family history or genetics, not the current illness. History of injury describes past trauma, not the present problem. Information about hypertension is a chronic condition detail, not the evolving story of the current symptoms.

So the correct expansion is History of Present Illness.