Human health and medicine

Procainamide

Procainamide, a class IA sodium channel blocker and amide analog of procaine, treats life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias and stable VT; known for lupus-like syndrome, QT prolongation, and PROCAMIO trial superiority over amiodarone.

Procaine

Procaine (Novocain) is an aminoester local anesthetic synthesized by Alfred Einhorn in 1905; it blocks voltage-gated sodium channels, is hydrolyzed by plasma butyrylcholinesterase to PABA, and dominated local anesthesia until lidocaine (1948).

Procalcitonin

Procalcitonin (PCT), the 116-amino acid prohormone of calcitonin, is a blood biomarker that rises in bacterial infection and sepsis, guides antibiotic start and stop decisions, and outperforms CRP diagnostically.

PROCaRe study

PROCaRe (Patient Reported Outcomes following Cancer of the Rectum), NCT04936581, is an international prospective cohort study comparing bowel, sexual, urinary function and quality of life after open, laparoscopic, robotic, or transanal TME for mid-low rectal cancer.

Procaterol

Procaterol (Meptin) is a selective short-acting beta2-adrenergic agonist bronchodilator for asthma and COPD, synthesized by Otsuka in 1973, given orally (50-100 mcg twice daily) or inhaled (20 mcg), with a 4.2-hour half-life.

Procedural sedation and analgesia

Procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA) is the use of sedative or dissociative drugs, with or without analgesics, to help patients tolerate painful procedures such as joint relocation while preserving breathing and circulation.

Oct 15, 2026

Process analytical technology

Process analytical technology (PAT) is an FDA framework, formalized in 2004, for designing and controlling pharmaceutical manufacturing through real-time measurements so quality is built in rather than tested afterward.

Prochlorperazine

Prochlorperazine (Stemetil, Buccastem, Compazine) is a piperazine phenothiazine dopamine D2 antagonist used as an antiemetic, antipsychotic, and acute migraine treatment; IV form carries a level A emergency department recommendation.

Proctalgia fugax

Proctalgia fugax is a functional anorectal pain disorder causing sudden, brief (seconds to 30 minutes) severe anal or rectal pain with symptom-free intervals, affecting roughly 3-18% of people, twice as often women; treated mainly with reassurance and warm sitz baths.

Proctectomy

Proctectomy is an operation to remove all or part of the rectum, most often for middle or low rectal cancer and also for inflammatory bowel disease.

Proctitis

Proctitis is inflammation of the rectal mucosa within 20 cm of the anal verge, caused mainly by IBD, sexually transmitted infections, and pelvic radiation; treated by cause with antibiotics, 5-ASA, or ablation.

Proctoscopes

Proctoscopes (also rectoscopes) are rigid endoscopes for visual examination of the rectum and anus, about 25 cm long with a light and lens; used in proctoscopy, biopsy, hemorrhoid treatment, and rectal cancer localization.

Proctoscopy

Proctoscopy is an endoscopic examination in which a lighted rigid tube, the proctoscope, is inserted through the anus to inspect the rectum, taking 5 to 15 minutes.

Procyclidine

Procyclidine (Kemadrin, Arpicolin) is a tertiary amine antimuscarinic anticholinergic drug, ATC N04AA04, first approved in 1955, used for Parkinson's disease and neuroleptic-induced extrapyramidal symptoms; given orally as 5 mg tablets with about 75% bioavailability.

PRODIGY trial (NCT00611286)

PRODIGY (NCT00611286), PROlonging Dual-Antiplatelet Treatment After Grading Stent-Induced Intimal Hyperplasia Study, an Italian 4x2 randomized trial of 2,013 all-comer PCI patients showing 24-month clopidogrel DAPT equaled 6 months for death/MI/stroke but doubled bleeding.

Prodrome

Prodrome: the earliest phase of a migraine attack, also called the premonitory phase, lasting up to 48 hours before headache pain or aura, with symptoms such as fatigue, mood change, neck stiffness, and food cravings.

Prodrug

Prodrug: an inactive or weakly active derivative of an active drug, converted in vivo by enzymatic or chemical cleavage into the parent drug. Term coined by Adrien Albert (1958); examples include oseltamivir, enalapril, capecitabine, omeprazole, and valacyclovir.

Professional Corporations

A professional corporation, also called a professional service corporation (PSC), is a corporation created under state law that lets licensed professionals practice through a company, usually marked PC.

Professional Misconduct

Professional misconduct is a violation of laws, regulations, or professional standards (MeSH D028743, 2002), also called unprofessional behavior. Distinct from malpractice; includes research misconduct (fabrication, falsification, plagiarism) and medical, legal, and disciplinary adjudication.

Professional Practice

Professional practice is the use of a person's specialized knowledge in a profession. In health care, it covers practitioners' duties and the standards and regulation that shape them.

Professional Review Organizations

Professional Review Organizations (PROs), formerly PSROs and now Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs), are regionally contracted Medicare peer review bodies reviewing medical necessity, quality, and cost-effectiveness of care, created by the 1972 Social Security Amendments and reshaped by the 1982 Peer Review Improvement Act.

PROFETHYL/2 trial

PROFETHYL/2 (NCT02869763), a WADA-collaborated randomized crossover trial by Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, tested 10 g and 20 g ethanol doses versus water in 12 healthy Caucasian women to measure alcohol's effect on the urinary steroid profile.

Oct 20, 2026

ProGanOS trial

ProGanOS (NCT06378268) is a non-inferiority randomized trial at My Duc Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, comparing dydrogesterone-based PPOS with cetrorelix GnRH antagonist ovarian stimulation in 626 IVF women, primary outcome ongoing pregnancy.

Progeria-short stature-pigmented nevi syndrome

Progeria-short stature-pigmented nevi syndrome, also called Mulvihill-Smith syndrome, is an extremely rare genetic disorder marked by premature aging, short stature, multiple pigmented moles, microcephaly, hearing loss, and immunodeficiency.

Progeroid features-hepatocellular carcinoma predisposition syndrome

Progeroid features-hepatocellular carcinoma predisposition syndrome, or Ruijs-Aalfs syndrome (RJALS, OMIM 616200), is an ultra-rare autosomal recessive SPRTN-related disorder combining early-onset liver cancer, genomic instability, and premature aging features.