Which OPQRST component asks about when the symptoms began?

• A. Onset
• B. Palliative/Provocative
• C. Quality
• D. Timing

Answer: (A)

The main idea is identifying when symptoms began. Onset is about the time the symptom first appeared and the circumstances around that moment—how long ago it started, whether it happened suddenly or gradually, and what the patient was doing when it started. This information helps distinguish acute, time-sensitive conditions from longer-standing ones and guides urgency and diagnostic decisions. The other aspects describe what provokes or relieves the symptom, the quality of the sensation, and how the symptom progresses over time, but they don’t specifically address the start time. For example, knowing that chest pain began suddenly 30 minutes ago while climbing stairs points to onset and has important implications for potential acute causes.