Human health and medicine

Prediabetes

Prediabetes: blood glucose above normal but below diabetes thresholds (A1C 5.7–6.4%, FPG 100–125 mg/dL). Affects ~97.6 million US adults; DPP lifestyle change cuts diabetes risk 58%, metformin 31%.

PREDICTION (NCT06729827) is a completed single-center randomized trial at Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, testing Hypotension Prediction Index-guided norepinephrine versus standard monitoring to reduce post-spinal hypotension during elective cesarean section in 102 women.

Predictive testing

Predictive testing is genetic testing of an asymptomatic person to estimate their risk of a hereditary disease later in life, first applied to Huntington disease in 1987 and always paired with counseling.

PREDICTIVE™ study

PREDICTIVE™ study (Predictable Results and Experience in Diabetes through Intensification and Control to Target); multinational prospective observational study of insulin detemir in over 30,000 type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients, showing reduced hypoglycaemia, lower HbA1c, and weight neutrality.

Prednicarbate

Prednicarbate (Hoe 777, brand Dermatop) is a nonhalogenated moderate-potency topical corticosteroid double ester of prednisolone for eczema and psoriasis, metabolized in skin to prednisolone with low atrophogenic and systemic effects.

Prednisolone

Prednisolone, active metabolite of prednisone, is a synthetic corticosteroid developed at Schering in 1954; anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive, 3-5 times cortisone potency, used for arthritis, asthma, allergies, and eye inflammation.

Prednisone

Prednisone is a synthetic oral glucocorticoid prodrug converted in the liver to prednisolone; 5 mg equals 20 mg hydrocortisone, used for inflammation, immunosuppression, and adrenal insufficiency replacement.

Prednisone/vincristine regimen

The prednisone/vincristine regimen is a historical two-drug combination chemotherapy induction treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, credited with complete remission rates of 83 to 95% and still embedded in named oncology regimens.

Predrag Jelenković

Predrag Jelekovic, also known as Predrag R. Jelenkovic, is a professor of electrical engineering at Columbia University who received a 1999 Presidential Early Career Award for modeling network behavior.

Preemptive analgesia

Preemptive analgesia is pain treatment started before a surgical incision to prevent central sensitization of spinal neurons, now largely replaced by the broader concept of preventive analgesia.

Preexcited atrial fibrillation

Preexcited atrial fibrillation: AF conducting anterograde over a Wolff-Parkinson-White accessory pathway, causing rapid irregular wide QRS tachycardia; treated with cardioversion or ibutilide/procainamide, with AV nodal blockers contraindicated.

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) is a reporting guideline with a 27-item checklist and flow diagram for transparently reporting systematic reviews and meta-analyses in health research.

Prefrontal cortex

Prefrontal cortex (PFC): the anterior frontal-lobe region supporting executive function, working memory, and socio-emotional behavior; about 30% of human cortical surface, matures into early adulthood, and is implicated in autism and schizophrenia.

Pregabalin

Pregabalin (Lyrica), a GABA-derivative anticonvulsant binding the alpha2-delta calcium channel subunit, treats neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, and partial seizures; first approved 2004, discovered at Northwestern with NIH funding, and a controlled substance in the US, UK, and India.

PregMet trial

PregMet (Metformin in Pregnant PCOS Women, NCT00159536) and its successor PregMet2 (NCT01587378) are Norwegian-led randomized placebo-controlled trials of 2000 mg metformin in PCOS pregnancy; pooled data suggest reduced late miscarriage and preterm birth but no prevention of gestational diabetes.

Pregnancy

Pregnancy (gestation, prenatal period): the roughly 40-week period in which a fetus develops in the womb, divided into trimesters; zygote, embryo, then fetus; includes prenatal care, complications, and maternal mortality.

Pregnancy category

Pregnancy category: letter-based drug risk classification (A, B, C, D, X; Australian A, B1-B3, C, D, X) for medicines in pregnancy. FDA abandoned its system in 2015 for the PLLR narrative format; Australia still uses categories.

Pregnancy dermatoses

Pregnancy dermatoses are pruritic inflammatory skin disorders specific to pregnancy and the immediate postpartum period: pemphigoid gestationis, polymorphic eruption of pregnancy (PUPPP), intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, and atopic eruption of pregnancy, distinguished by onset, lesions, and fetal risk.

Pregnancy options counseling

Pregnancy options counseling is a person-centered, nondirective counseling method in which a clinician gives a patient with an unintended pregnancy unbiased information on continuing the pregnancy, adoption, and abortion.

Oct 20, 2026

Pregnancy Outcome

Pregnancy outcome (MeSH D011256) is the result of conception and ensuing pregnancy: live birth, stillbirth, spontaneous abortion, or induced abortion, including outcomes after assisted reproduction; a standardized endpoint in obstetric research and surveillance.

Pregnancy over age 50

Pregnancy over age 50: postmenopausal or near-postmenopausal pregnancy achieved almost exclusively by donor-egg IVF; US births 1,230 in 2022; elevated risks of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, cesarean, and maternal death.

Pregnancy test

Pregnancy test: home or clinical qualitative immunoassay detecting human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in urine; most reliable from the first day of a missed period, with brand accuracy varying widely from packaging claims.

Pregnancy-associated spontaneous coronary artery dissection

Pregnancy-associated spontaneous coronary artery dissection (P-SCAD, PASCAD) is a non-atherosclerotic coronary artery tear during pregnancy or postpartum, the leading cause of pregnancy-related myocardial infarction, managed mainly conservatively.

Prehypertension

Prehypertension (JNC 7, 2003) is blood pressure of 120–139 systolic and/or 80–89 diastolic mm Hg, above optimal but below hypertension; linked to higher CVD, CHD, and stroke risk, and replaced in 2017 ACC/AHA terms by elevated BP and stage 1 hypertension.

PREHYSMYOM study

PREHYSMYOM (NCT06768086) is a completed Italian observational pilot study testing 3 months of preoperative EGCG, vitamin D, and D-chiro-inositol (Eutris Plus) before hysteroscopic myomectomy for submucosal fibroids, extending a 2024 laparoscopic pilot.

Preimplantation genetic screening

Preimplantation genetic screening, now called PGT-A, is a reproductive medicine procedure that tests IVF embryos for chromosomal abnormalities before transfer, selecting embryos most likely to produce a live birth.

Preimplantation genetic testing

Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) is a reproductive medicine procedure that analyzes IVF embryos for genetic or chromosomal abnormalities before transfer, divided into PGT-A, PGT-M, and PGT-SR.

Preladenant

Preladenant (SCH-420814, MK-3814), an oral, highly selective adenosine A2A receptor antagonist developed by Schering-Plough/Merck for Parkinson's disease; positive phase 2 off-time results but failed phase 3 trials and development discontinued in 2013.