AANPCB A-GNP key terms

A test given to people who have no symptoms of a disease, aiming to find it early when treatment works better. It should have proven benefit and acceptable harms before being offered routinely.

A letter grade from A to D, or I for insufficient evidence, that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force assigns to a preventive service based on strength of evidence and balance of benefits and harms.

The number of patients who must receive an intervention for one additional person to gain the intended benefit. Smaller values mean a stronger treatment effect and help weigh prevention choices.

A conversation in which the clinician explains options and evidence while the patient shares values and preferences, and together they agree on a plan of care.

A patient-centered counseling style that draws out and strengthens a person's own reasons for changing a behavior, using open questions, affirmations, reflections, and summaries while respecting autonomy.

A checking technique in which the patient restates the plan or instructions in their own words, so the clinician can correct misunderstandings before the patient leaves.

Indirect protection that appears when enough people in a group are immune to an infection, which slows transmission and shields those who cannot be vaccinated.

Annually updated recommendations for which vaccines adults need, and when, adjusted for age, pregnancy, occupation, chronic disease, and immune status.

A calculation using age, sex, blood pressure, cholesterol, smoking, and diabetes to estimate the chance of a heart attack or stroke in the next ten years.

The share of people who truly have a disease and whose test is correctly positive. A very sensitive test is most useful for ruling out disease when the result is negative.

The share of people without the disease whose test is correctly negative. A very specific test is most useful for ruling in disease when the result is positive.

The chance that a patient with a positive result really has the disease. It depends on specificity and on how common the disease is in the population tested.

The estimated chance that a patient has a condition before testing, based on history, examination, and local prevalence. It determines whether a test result will meaningfully change management.

A number showing how much a given test result multiplies the odds of disease. Values far from 1.0 shift thinking substantially; values near 1.0 change very little.

An ordered list of possible explanations for a patient's problem, ranked by how likely each is and by how harmful it would be to miss it.

A symptom, sign, or history detail that suggests a dangerous cause and calls for urgent evaluation instead of routine or watchful management.

Acute infection of lung tissue acquired outside a hospital, recognized by fever, cough, dyspnea, and a new infiltrate, with empiric antibiotics chosen by severity and comorbidity.

A five-item score - confusion, urea, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and age 65 or older - that estimates pneumonia mortality and helps decide whether to admit the patient.

A point system using fever, absence of cough, tonsillar exudate, and tender anterior neck nodes to estimate the probability of streptococcal pharyngitis and guide testing decisions.

Organized efforts to prescribe antibiotics only when bacterial infection is likely, at the right drug, dose, and duration, to limit resistance and adverse effects.

Bladder infection in a nonpregnant woman with a normal urinary tract and no systemic illness, usually managed with a short course of oral antibiotics.

Markedly elevated blood pressure with acute target-organ damage such as encephalopathy, pulmonary edema, or aortic dissection, requiring monitored intravenous lowering in a hospital setting.

A glycated hemoglobin target tailored to the patient, often below 7% for many nonpregnant adults and higher for those with hypoglycemia risk, frailty, or limited life expectancy.

Classification of chronic kidney disease using both a glomerular filtration rate category and an albuminuria category, because the pair predicts progression better than either measure alone.

Heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction of 40% or less, treated with combined neurohormonal blockade and other guideline-directed drugs that improve survival.

A four-step scale describing how much ordinary activity provokes heart failure symptoms, used to grade severity and track response to therapy over time.

The ratio of forced expiratory volume in one second to forced vital capacity measured after a bronchodilator; a value below 0.70 supports persistent airflow obstruction and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Use of many medications at once, commonly five or more, which raises the chance of interactions, adverse effects, and nonadherence and should prompt regular review.

A regularly updated list of medications considered potentially inappropriate for older adults because their risks often outweigh benefits, used to guide safer prescribing.

The planned, supervised tapering or stopping of medicines that no longer help or whose harms exceed benefits, done with monitoring and the patient's agreement.

An acute, fluctuating disturbance of attention and awareness caused by illness, drugs, pain, or withdrawal. It signals serious underlying disease and is not a normal part of aging.

A chronic, progressive decline in memory or other thinking skills severe enough to interfere with daily function, with an insidious course unlike the sudden onset of delirium.

A structured review of gait, balance, strength, vision, footwear, medications, and home hazards for older adults, often starting with a timed up-and-go test.

A state of lowered physiologic reserve that makes a person vulnerable to small stressors, suggested by unintentional weight loss, exhaustion, weakness, slow walking, and low activity.

Ongoing conversations and written documents that record a person's goals, values, chosen health care proxy, and treatment preferences for a time when they cannot speak for themselves.

Types of involuntary urine loss: stress with coughing or lifting, urgency with sudden bladder contractions, overflow with retention, and functional when toileting barriers exist.