Human health and medicine

Prescription drug

Prescription drug (Rx medicine): a medicine legally supplied only on an authorized prescriber's order, unlike OTC drugs. Regulated via FDA NDA process and UK Human Medicines Regulations; class created by 1938 FDA rules, clarified by Durham-Humphrey 1951.

Presendin (sustained-release exenatide)

Presendin is Invex Therapeutics' sustained-release exenatide (PLGA microsphere, once-weekly injection) for idiopathic intracranial hypertension; its Phase III IIH EVOLVE trial (NCT05347147) closed in August 2023 for commercial reasons after 14 enrollments.

Preservation rhinoplasty

Preservation rhinoplasty is a surgical technique for nasal hump correction that lowers the dorsum by removing septal cartilage and mobilizing the bony pyramid while keeping the dorsal roof intact.

President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief

The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is the United States government's global HIV/AIDS program, launched by President George W. Bush in 2003 and credited with saving 25 million lives.

Pressure gradient measurement

Pressure gradient measurement is the clinical measurement of the pressure difference across a narrowed heart valve or vessel, done by Doppler echocardiography or catheterization to grade stenosis severity.

PRESSURE study

PRESSURE study (NCT07059520): Erasmus MC-led prospective observational cohort of 125 chronic mesenteric ischemia patients testing whether vasodilator-stimulated translesional Pd/Pa pressure measurements predict benefit from mesenteric stenting, building on a retrospective study with 86% sensitivity and 83% specificity.

Pressure support ventilation

Pressure support ventilation (PSV) is a mode of mechanical ventilation in which every breath is patient-triggered and assisted with a set inspiratory pressure, used for weaning.

Pressure ulcer

Pressure ulceration (bedsore, pressure injury, decubitus ulcer; ICD-11 EH90) is localized skin and tissue death from prolonged pressure and shear over bony prominences, staged 1-4 plus deep tissue injury by the NPIAP system.

Pressure-flow study

A pressure-flow study is an invasive urodynamic test that records bladder pressure and urine flow simultaneously during voiding, the reference standard for diagnosing bladder outlet obstruction in men.

Pressure-induced localized lipoatrophy

Pressure-induced localized lipoatrophy, also called lipoatrophia semicircularis or semicircular lipoatrophy, is a rare acquired localized lipodystrophy causing band-like thigh depressions from repeated pressure, first described in 1974, mainly in female office workers, and reversible when pressure stops.

Pressured speech

Pressured speech (pressure of speech; ICD-11 MB23.L) is rapid, loud, urgent speech that is hard to interrupt, a cardinal sign of manic episodes in bipolar disorder, also seen in schizophrenia and anxiety.

Pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy

Pressurized intraperitoneal aerosol chemotherapy (PIPAC) is a repeatable laparoscopic technique, first reported in 2013, that nebulizes low-dose chemotherapy into the abdomen to treat peritoneal carcinomatosis.

PREST trial

PREST (Pain REduction with bone metastases STereotactic radiotherapy), NCT03597984, is a phase III Italian multicenter randomized trial comparing IMRT-SIB 7 Gy x 3 plus 10 Gy x 3 boost versus standard 4 Gy x 5 for painful spinal bone metastases, with 3-month pain control as primary endpoint.

Prestin

Prestin (SLC26A5) is the motor protein of cochlear outer hair cells, driving voltage-dependent electromotility for cochlear amplification. Named from Italian 'presto'; its anion transport, voltage sensing, and 2021 structures distinguish it from other SLC26 transporters.

Presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome

Presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome (POHS), also called ocular histoplasmosis syndrome, is a retinal condition linked to prior Histoplasma capsulatum exposure, marked by histo spots, peripapillary atrophy, absent vitritis, and choroidal neovascularization causing vision loss.

Presymptomatic testing

Presymptomatic testing is a genetic test on an asymptomatic person at family risk to determine whether they inherited a disease-causing mutation for a disorder that typically appears later in life.

Presyncope

Presyncope, or near syncope, is feeling about to faint without losing consciousness, caused by reduced cerebral blood flow; causes include vasovagal, orthostatic, and cardiac conditions, with up to 25% serious outcomes in ED patients.

PRET trial

PRET (Partnership for the Rapid Elimination of Trachoma), NCT00792922: cluster-randomized azithromycin mass-treatment trials in Niger, Tanzania, and The Gambia comparing coverage and frequency for trachoma elimination.

Pretargeted radioimmunotherapy

Pretargeted radioimmunotherapy (PRIT) is a two-step nuclear medicine treatment for cancer in which a tumor-targeting antibody is given first and a radiolabeled molecule second, concentrating radiation in tumors while sparing normal tissue.

Preterm birth

Preterm birth, also called premature birth, is birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation; 13.4 million cases in 2020, leading cause of death in children under 5, with categories extremely, very, and moderate to late preterm.

Preterm newborn

Preterm newborn: a baby born alive before 37 completed weeks (259 days) of gestation; ICD-11 code KA21.4. 13.4 million preterm births in 2020; leading cause of under-5 death, with survival strongly tied to income setting.

Preterm premature rupture of membranes

Preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM, P-PROM): rupture of the amniotic sac before labor and before 37 weeks; up to 3% of pregnancies, 30-40% of preterm births; managed with erythromycin, corticosteroids, and expectant management to 37 weeks.

Pretibial myxoedema

Pretibial myxoedema (thyroid dermopathy, localized myxoedema) is a rare Graves' disease skin manifestation with hyaluronic acid buildup on the shins, treated first with corticosteroids, emerging teprotumumab.

Pretomanid

Pretomanid (PA-824, EU name Dovprela) is an oral nitroimidazooxazine prodrug antibiotic for drug-resistant tuberculosis, used only in BPaL/BPaLM regimens; FDA-approved August 14, 2019, developed by TB Alliance.

PREVAIL trial

PREVAIL (NCT01212991, MDV3100-03): phase 3 trial of enzalutamide 160 mg vs placebo in 1,717 chemotherapy-naive men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer; improved rPFS (HR 0.32) and overall survival (HR 0.71 interim, 0.83 at 5 years).

Prevalence

Prevalence is an epidemiological measure of how many people in a population have a disease at a given time, including both new and existing cases.

Prevalence of circumcision

The prevalence of circumcision, also called circumcision worldwide, is about 38.7% of males aged 15 and older in 2016, varying mainly with religion and region.

PREVEDEL trial

PREVEDEL trial (NCT05108207): multicenter randomized controlled trial in four Santiago, Chile hospitals testing tablet-based PREVEDEL cognitive stimulation software to prevent delirium in hospitalized older adults aged 65+, 320 participants, five-day intervention.

Prevenar 13

Prevenar 13 (Prevnar 13, PCV13) is Pfizer's 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine against Streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6A, 6B, 7F, 9V, 14, 18C, 19A, 19F, 23F; EU-approved 2009, US 2010, WHO-prequalified 2010, now superseded by PCV15/20/21 in US routine use.