secondary prevention

secondary prevention,

a level of preventive medicine that focuses on early diagnosis, use of referral services, and rapid initiation of treatment to stop the progress of disease processes or a handicapping disability.

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secondary,

adj 1. not primary, immediately following the first position; supplemental.
2. directly emerging or resulting from an original source or condition.

secondary bone,

n a second layer of bone tissue that supersedes the original bone as part of the maturation process.

secondary cancer,

n an opportunistic neoplasm imposed on a host with reduced health and resistance resulting from a preceding primary neoplasm or viral infection.

secondary deficiency,

n an inadequacy of nutrients in the diet that is the result of the body's inability effectively to process and use the foods ingested, however healthy those foods might be; may be caused by disease, allergies, or interactions between drugs and nutrients or between two nutrients.

secondary dental caries,

n.pl See caries, recurrent.

secondary dentition,

n See dentition, permanent.

secondary hemorrhage,

n bleeding that develops 24 hours or more after the original injury or surgery. It is often caused by an infection.

secondary infectious disease,

n an opportunistic infection imposed on a host with reduced health and resistance resulting from a preceding infection by a more virulent organism.

secondary prevention,

n an action performed to take care of early symptoms of a disease and preclude the development of possible irreparable medical conditions. See also primary health care and primary prevention.

secondary radiation,

n See radiation, secondary.

secondary sex characteristic,

n an external physical characteristic of sexual maturity that distinguishes one gender from the other, such as the distribution of hair and voice changes.

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secondary prevention

Preventive medicine Reduction of M&M in Pts with a known disease, treating it while it is asymptomatic–eg, optimizing glycemic control in DM. See Healthy lifestyle. Cf Primary prevention.