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Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), is the use of medications to prevent the spread of disease in people who have not yet been exposed to a disease-causing agent. Vaccination is the most commonly used form of pre-exposure prophylaxis; other forms of pre-exposure prophylaxis generally involve drug treatment, known as chemoprophylaxis.
Chemoprevention or chemoprophylaxis refers to the administration of a medication for the purpose of preventing disease or infection. [1] [2] Antibiotics, for example, may be administered to patients with disorders of immune system function to prevent bacterial infections (particularly opportunistic infection). [3]
The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer estimated that in 2002, infection caused 17.8% of human cancers, with 11.9% caused by one of seven viruses. [7] A 2020 study of 2,658 samples from 38 different types of cancer found that 16% were associated with a virus. [8]
Due to immune system suppression, neutropenic enterocolitis (typhlitis) is a "life-threatening gastrointestinal complication of chemotherapy." [82] Typhlitis is an intestinal infection which may manifest itself through symptoms including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, a distended abdomen, fever, chills, or abdominal pain and tenderness. [83]
Medications can be used to prevent cancer in a few circumstances. [144] In the general population, NSAIDs reduce the risk of colorectal cancer; however, due to cardiovascular and gastrointestinal side effects, they cause overall harm when used for prevention. [145] Aspirin has been found to reduce the risk of death from cancer by about 7%. [146]
Advertisement for a healthy diet to possibly reduce cancer risk. An average 35% of human cancer mortality is attributed to the diet of the individual. [9] Studies have linked excessive consumption of red or processed meat to an increased risk of breast cancer, colon cancer, and pancreatic cancer, a phenomenon which could be due to the presence of carcinogens in meats cooked at high temperatures.
Since opportunistic infections can cause severe disease, much emphasis is placed on measures to prevent infection. Such a strategy usually includes restoration of the immune system as soon as possible, avoiding exposures to infectious agents, and using antimicrobial medications ("prophylactic medications") directed against specific infections. [50]
Determining the presence of a hospital acquired infection requires an infection control practitioner (ICP) to review a patient's chart and see if the patient had the signs and symptom of an infection. Surveillance definitions exist for infections of the bloodstream, urinary tract, pneumonia, surgical sites and gastroenteritis. [citation needed]