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What Is A Psa In Healthcare?

What Is A Psa In Healthcare
PSAs are a second pair of hands for nurses but do not perform hands on care. They may assist with lifts or turns. They ensure each bedside has enough supplies, and that rooms are regularly cleaned. TSAs are responsible for the maintenance of the unit beyond the patient rooms: hallways, heavier cleaning, and troubleshooting non-medical equipment.

What are the duties of a PSA?

To work collaboratively and effectively with Pupil Support Assistants to ensure that children and young people have appropriate support in order to progress in their learning. To liaise with Pupil Support Assistants regarding the needs of individual pupils.

What is a PSA stand for in a hospital?

Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test Prostate-specific antigen, or PSA, is a protein produced by normal, as well as, cells of the prostate gland. The PSA test measures the level of PSA in the blood. For this test, a blood sample is sent to a laboratory for analysis.

  • The results are usually reported as nanograms of PSA per (ng/mL) of blood.
  • The blood level of PSA is often elevated in people with prostate cancer, and the PSA test was originally approved by the in 1986 to monitor the progression of prostate cancer in men who had already been diagnosed with the disease.

In 1994, FDA approved the PSA test to be used in conjunction with a (DRE) to aid in the detection of prostate cancer in men 50 years and older. Until about 2008, many doctors and professional organizations had encouraged yearly PSA screening for prostate cancer beginning at age 50.

  • PSA testing (along with a DRE) is also often used by health care providers for individuals who report prostate symptoms to help determine the nature of the problem.
  • In addition to prostate cancer, several (not cancerous) conditions can cause a person’s PSA level to rise, particularly (inflammation of the prostate) and (BPH) (enlargement of the prostate).

There is no evidence that either condition leads to prostate cancer, but someone can have one or both of these conditions and develop prostate cancer as well. Beginning around 2008, as more was learned about both the benefits and harms of prostate cancer screening, a number of professional medical organizations began to caution against routine population screening with the PSA test.

Most organizations recommend that individuals who are considering PSA screening first discuss the risks and benefits with their doctors. Some organizations do recommend that men who are at higher risk of prostate cancer begin PSA screening at age 40 or 45. These include Black men, men with variants in (and to a lesser extent, in ), and men whose father or brother had prostate cancer.

In 2018, the United States Preventive Serves Task Force () updated its from a “D” (not recommended) to a “C” (selectively offering PSA-based screening based on professional judgment and patient preferences) in men ages 55 to 69. (The USPSTF continues to recommend against PSA screening for men 70 years and older.) The updated recommendation, which applies to the general population as well as those at increased risk due to race/ethnicity or, is as follows:

  • For individuals ages 55 to 69 years, the decision to undergo periodic PSA-based screening for prostate cancer should be an individual one. Before making the decision, a person should discuss the potential benefits and harms of screening with their clinician and consider these in the context of their own values and preferences.
  • PSA-based screening for prostate cancer is not recommended for individuals 70 years and older.

Currently, provides coverage for an annual PSA test for all Medicare-eligible individuals ages 50 and older. Many private insurers cover PSA screening as well. There is no specific normal or abnormal level of PSA in the blood. In the past, PSA levels of 4.0 ng/mL and lower were considered normal.

  1. However, some individuals with PSA levels below 4.0 ng/mL have prostate cancer and many with higher PSA levels between 4 and 10 ng/mL do not have prostate cancer ().
  2. In addition, various factors can cause someone’s PSA level to fluctuate.
  3. For example, the PSA level tends to increase with age, prostate gland size, and inflammation or infection.

A recent prostate will also increase the PSA level, as can or vigorous exercise (such as cycling) in the 2 days before testing. Conversely, some drugs—including and, which are used to treat —lower the PSA level. In general, however, the higher a man’s PSA level, the more likely it is that he has prostate cancer.

  1. If someone who has no symptoms of prostate cancer chooses to undergo prostate cancer screening and is found to have an elevated PSA level, the doctor may recommend another PSA test to confirm the original finding.
  2. If the PSA level is still high, the doctor may recommend that the person continue with PSA tests and (DREs) at regular intervals to watch for any changes over time (also called observation or ).

If the PSA level continues to rise or a suspicious lump is detected during a DRE, the doctor may recommend additional tests to determine the nature of the problem. These may include imaging tests, such as (MRI) or high-resolution micro-. Alternatively, the doctor may recommend a prostate,

  • During this procedure, multiple samples of prostate tissue are collected by inserting hollow needles into the prostate and then withdrawing them.
  • The biopsy needle may be inserted through the wall of the rectum () or through the perineum ().
  • A then examines the collected tissue under a,
  • Although both biopsy techniques are guided by ultrasound imaging so the doctor can view the prostate during the biopsy procedure, ultrasound cannot be used alone to diagnose prostate cancer.

An may be performed for patients with suspicious areas seen on MRI. In the past, men with elevated PSA levels and no other symptoms were sometimes prescribed antibiotics to see if an infection might be causing the PSA increase. However, according to the American Urological Association, there is no evidence to support the use of antibiotics to reduce PSA levels in men who are not experiencing other symptoms.

Detecting prostate cancer early may not reduce the chance of dying from prostate cancer. When used in screening, the PSA test can help detect small tumors. Having a small tumor found and treated may not, however, reduce the chance of dying from prostate cancer. That is because many tumors found through PSA testing grow so slowly that they are unlikely to be life threatening.

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Detecting such tumors is called “,” and treating them is called “.” Overtreatment exposes a person unnecessarily to the potential associated with prostate surgery and, These include urinary (e.g.,, or leaking of urine following surgery and increased frequency and urgency of urination following radiation), (e.g., loose stools or, less commonly, rectal bleeding following radiation), and sexual side effects (loss of or decreased erections following both surgery and radiation).

  • In addition, finding cancer early may not help someone who has a fast-growing or aggressive prostate tumor that may have spread to other parts of the body before being detected.
  • The PSA test may give,
  • A false-positive test result occurs when the PSA level is elevated but no cancer is actually present.

A false-positive test result may create anxiety and lead to additional medical procedures, such as a prostate biopsy, that can be harmful. Possible of include serious infections, pain, and bleeding. False-positive test results are common with PSA screening; only about 25% of people who have a prostate biopsy due to an elevated PSA level are found to have prostate cancer when a biopsy is done ().

Several large, of prostate cancer screening have been carried out. One of the largest is the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, which NCI conducted to determine whether certain screening tests can help reduce the numbers of deaths from several common cancers. In the prostate portion of the trial, the PSA test and were evaluated for their ability to decrease a man’s chances of dying from prostate cancer.

The PLCO investigators found that men who underwent annual prostate cancer screening had a higher of prostate cancer than men in the but had about the same rate of deaths from the disease (). Overall, the results suggest that many men were treated for prostate cancers that would not have been detected in their lifetime without screening.

Consequently, these men were exposed unnecessarily to the potential harms of treatment. A second large trial, the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC), compared prostate cancer deaths in men randomly assigned to PSA-based screening or no screening. As in the PLCO, men in ERSPC who were screened for prostate cancer had a higher incidence of the disease than control men.

In contrast to the PLCO, however, men who were screened had a lower rate of death from prostate cancer (, ). A subsequent analysis of data from the PLCO used a statistical model to account for the fact that some men in the PLCO trial who were assigned to the control group had nevertheless undergone PSA screening.

This analysis suggested that the level of benefit in the PLCO and ERSPC trials was similar and that both trials showed some reduction in prostate cancer death in association with prostate cancer screening (). Such statistical modeling studies have important limitations and rely on unverified assumptions that can render their findings questionable (or more suitable for further study than to serve as a basis for screening guidelines).

More important, the model could not provide an assessment of the balance of benefits versus harms from screening. The third and largest trial, the Cluster Randomized Trial of PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer (CAP), conducted in the United Kingdom, compared prostate cancer mortality among men whose primary care practices were randomly assigned to offer their patients a single PSA screening test or to provide usual care in which screening was not offered.

  • After a follow-up of 10 years, more low-risk prostate cancers were detected in the single PSA test group than in the usual (unscreened) care group (even though only about a third of men in the screening group actually had the PSA test), but there was no difference in prostate cancer mortality ().
  • A systematic review and of all randomized controlled trials comparing PSA screening with usual care in men without a diagnosis of prostate cancer concluded that PSA screening for prostate cancer leads to a small reduction in prostate cancer mortality over 10 years but does not affect overall mortality ().

The has estimated that, for every 1,000 men ages 55 to 69 years who are screened for 13 years ():

  • About 1.3 deaths from prostate cancer would be avoided (or 1 death avoided per 769 men screened).,
  • 3 men would avoid developing metastatic cancer
  • 5 men would die from prostate cancer despite screening, diagnosis, and treatment
  • 240 men would have a positive PSA test result, many of whom would have a biopsy that shows that the result was a false-positive; some men who had a biopsy would experience at least moderately bothersome symptoms (pain, bleeding, or infection) from the procedure (and 2 would be hospitalized).
  • 100 men would be diagnosed with prostate cancer. Of those, 80 would be treated (either immediately or after a period of ) with surgery or radiation. Many of these men would have a serious complication from treatment, with 50 experiencing sexual dysfunction and 15 experiencing,
  • 200 men would die of causes other than prostate cancer

The PSA test is used to monitor men after surgery or radiation therapy for prostate cancer to see if their cancer has recurred (come back). If a man’s PSA level begins to rise after prostate cancer treatment, it may be the first sign of a, Such a “” typically appears months or years before the recurrence causes symptoms.

However, a single elevated PSA measurement in someone who has a history of prostate cancer does not always mean that the cancer has come back. Someone who has been treated for prostate cancer should discuss an elevated PSA level with their doctor. The doctor may recommend repeating the PSA test or performing other tests to check for evidence of a recurrence.

The doctor may look for a trend of rising PSA level over time rather than a single elevated PSA level. A rising trend in PSA level over time in combination with other findings, such as an abnormal result on, may lead the doctor to recommend further cancer treatment.

Scientists are investigating ways to improve the PSA test to give doctors the ability to better distinguish from conditions and slow-growing cancers from fast-growing, potentially lethal cancers. And other potential of prostate cancer are being investigated. None of these tests has been proven to decrease the risk of death from prostate cancer.

Some of the methods being studied include

  • Free versus total PSA, The amount of PSA in the blood that is “free” (not bound to other proteins) divided by the (free plus bound) is denoted as the proportion of, Some evidence suggests that a lower proportion of free PSA may be associated with more cancer.
  • PSA density, The blood level of PSA divided by the volume of the prostate gland. Some evidence suggests that this measure may be more accurate at detecting prostate cancer than the standard PSA test.
  • PSA velocity and PSA doubling time. is the rate of change in a man’s PSA level over time, expressed as ng/mL per year. PSA doubling time is the period of time over which a man’s PSA level doubles. These measures are most useful in men with a following surgery or radiation therapy.
  • Pro-PSA. Pro-PSA refers to several different inactive precursors of PSA. There is some evidence that pro-PSA is more strongly associated with prostate cancer than with, One blood test combines the measurement of a form of pro-PSA called proPSA with measurements of PSA and free PSA into a mathematical formula called the Prostate Health Index. The resulting “phi score” calculated from this formula can be used to help a man with a PSA level between 4 and 10 ng/mL decide whether he should have a biopsy.
  • IsoPSA. PSA exists in different structural forms (called isoforms) in the blood. The IsoPSA test, which measures the entire spectrum of PSA isoforms rather than the concentration of PSA in the blood, may be better than traditional PSA testing for identifying men with an increased risk for developing prostate cancer who should undergo biopsy ().
  • 4Kscore Test. The 4Kscore test takes into account four different prostate-specific biomarkers, namely, total PSA, free PSA, intact PSA, and human kallikrein 2, as well as the patient’s age, prior biopsy history, and status to assess the risk of aggressive prostate cancer in someone with an abnormal screening result.
  • Urinary biomarkers. Prostate cancer antigen 3 ( and the TMPRSS2-ERG are biomarkers that are tested in a sample. They have increased specificity for prostate cancer compared with PSA testing alone, but do not appear to preferentially identify clinically significant disease. The use of these two biomarkers in combination can help reduce the number of (unnecessary) biopsies.
  1. Thompson IM, Pauler DK, Goodman PJ, et al. Prevalence of prostate cancer among men with a prostate-specific antigen level < or =4.0 ng per milliliter. New England Journal of Medicine 2004; 350(22):2239–2246.
  2. Barry MJ. Clinical practice. Prostate-specific-antigen testing for early diagnosis of prostate cancer. New England Journal of Medicine 2001; 344(18):1373–1377.
  3. Pinsky PF, Prorok PC, Yu K, et al. Extended mortality results for prostate cancer screening in the PLCO trial with median follow-up of 15 years. Cancer 2017; 123(4):592–599.
  4. Schröder FH, Hugosson J, Roobol MJ, et al. Prostate-cancer mortality at 11 years of follow-up. New England Journal of Medicine 2012; 366(11):981–990.
  5. Schröder FH, Hugosson J, Roobol MJ, et al. Screening and prostate cancer mortality: Results of the European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) at 13 years of follow-up. Lancet 2014; 384:2027–2035.
  6. Tsodikov A, Gulati R, Heijnsdijk EAM, et al. Reconciling the effects of screening on prostate cancer mortality in the ERSPC and PLCO trials. Annals of Internal Medicine 2017; 167(7):449–455.
  7. Martin RM, Donovan JL, Turner EL, et al. Effect of a low-intensity PSA-based screening intervention on prostate cancer mortality: The CAP randomized clinical trial. JAMA 2018; 319(9):883–895.
  8. Ilic D, Djulbegovic M, Jung JH, Hwang EC, et al. Prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test: A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Medical Journal 2018; 362:k3519.
  9. US Preventive Services Task Force, Grossman DC, Curry SJ, et al. Screening for Prostate Cancer: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA 2018; 319(18):1901–1913.
  10. Hugosson J, Roobol MJ, Månsson M, et al. A 16-yr follow-up of the European Randomized Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer. European Urology 2019; 76(1):43–51.
  11. Klein EA, Chait A, Hafron JM, et al. The single-parameter, structure-based IsoPSA assay demonstrates improved diagnostic accuracy for detection of any prostate cancer and high-grade prostate cancer compared to a concentration-based assay of total prostate-specific antigen: A preliminary report. European Urology 2017;72(6):942–949.
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If you would like to reproduce some or all of this content, see for guidance about copyright and permissions. In the case of permitted digital reproduction, please credit the National Cancer Institute as the source and link to the original NCI product using the original product’s title; e.g., “Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test was originally published by the National Cancer Institute.” : Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test

What skills are required to be a PSA?

Most Important Skills Required to Be a Psa as Listed by Employers and Employees

Skills Required by Employers Share
Supervisory Experience 14.15%
Communication Skills 13.95%
Mentoring 12.71%
Patient Care 9.30%

What does PSA stand for from doctors?

Your doctor just told you you have elevated PSA. What does that mean? During a routine physical exam, many primary care providers will recommend that men have blood drawn to check their PSA levels. PSA stands for Prostate Specific Antigen. An (normal PSA levels are age-dependent) can be indicative of prostate cancer, or a number of other issues.

  1. Only about 25% of men with elevated PSA levels, who go on to have prostate biopsies (a procedure where a small sample of prostate tissue is gathered with a needle to be analyzed) have prostate cancer.
  2. What are some of the issues other than prostate cancer that can cause elevated PSA levels? Prostatitis.

Prostatitis means inflammation of the prostate and can be classified as either bacterial or non-bacterial. While the bacterial variety can be quickly treated with antibiotics, non-bacterial prostatitis can be much more difficult to diagnose and treat.

  1. Sex. The prostate provides about 25% of the material that makes up semen, and contraction of the smooth muscles of the prostate help to expel semen through the urethra.
  2. Ejaculation can cause PSA levels to increase slightly.
  3. This should come back to normal within two to three days.
  4. The increase tends to be minor enough to not have a significant impact on the level, but could push you from high-normal to high.

Getting older. By virtue of surviving another year, your prostate level will rise. While a level of 2.5 is normal for a 40-year-old, by the time you hit 70, that normal level is 6.5. As you can see, an elevated PSA in and of itself should not be considered alarming.

There is even a growing voice wondering whether the PSA is an accurate enough tool to be used to diagnose cancer. Here at Urology Austin, we’ve been talking to men about their prostates for over 50 years. Please to find out more about the PSA or any other urological concerns. : Your doctor just told you you have elevated PSA.

What does that mean?

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How do you start a PSA example?

How to write a 30 second PSA – The first step in writing a PSA is drilling down to your key messages, Chances are you already know the topic, be it an upcoming event or a planned awareness campaign. If the PSA is meant to create awareness for your organization and the community benefit it provides, then you may need to focus on a single topic.

Now your audience before you begin writing. You want to tailor your PSA to your targeted demographic. For instance, your approach to reaching young married couples will likely be different than retirees. Always start with a strong hook, something to get your audience’s attention and keep them listening.

Avoid broad strokes. You want your focus to be narrow so the message stays clear and sharp. Adding statistics and citing expert resources makes your PSA stronger. Make sure that any information you include is the most current available. Accuracy is vital.

Outdated or wrong information can damage your organization’s credibility. Create the script, keeping in mind the maximum word count of 90, It may help to first bullet point and order the information that you’d like to include. Put the most important information at the top of the list, and work from there.

Around 5 to 7 key aspects tend to work best but keep them concise. Once your script is complete, record it and distribute it to the key stations in your targeted area. : 30 Second PSA Examples – Public Service Announcement Examples PSA

What is a PSA in a presentation?

Public Service Announcement A PSA (Public Service Announcement) is a short informational clip that is meant to raise the audience’s awareness about an important issue. PSAs may include interviews, dramatizations, animations and many other types of video and audio content.

It gets the audience to pay attention. The message is clear and easy to understand The message is supported by facts about the issue. The audience is able to sympathize with those affected by the issue.

You can find some Creative Commons video or film some of your own footage. You can find Creative Commons photos via the or take some photos yourself. You can find Creative Commons music via the, You can record a voiceover using the podcasting mics or the audio recording booths at University Park and select campuses.

Provides additional information for the viewer that the announcer does not have time to say, or it can be a part of your style and tone. Do not make it too wordy, though, otherwise the audience will not have time to read it. Additionally, remember the “PowerPoint rule”–don’t read your on-screen text word-for-word in voiceovers, unless it’s a quote.

This is perhaps what immediately comes to mind when one thinks of a “PSA.” Its usual components are a series of videos and images with a narrator or narrators delivering information to the audience either on-screen or through a voiceover. Sometimes text alone can be just as powerful and effective.

  • Multiple On-screen Announcers Video footage of an announcer or announcers that you shot yourself.
  • See our for help shooting.
  • This method incorporates interviews into the PSA.
  • This method is effective because the interviews provide either expert testimony or stories from people who have personal experience with your topic to support the argument that you are making.

Sometimes the interviews can be accompanied by a voiceover, or other times your interview(s) alone can be very effective. Interviews, For information and tips on shooting interviews see our tutorial. This style uses either a scene, montage (a collection of several short clips), or a re-enactment/footage of true events to illustrate the point that you are trying to make.

What is a PSA in English class?

After the discussion, ask students if they know what this type of video is called.3 Explain that the videos they watched are called Public Service Announcements or PSAs. PSAs are videos created to raise awareness and change public attitudes and behavior toward a social issue.

How is a PSA structured?

Abstract – Based on unique biology of prostate cancer, prostate-specific antigen could be a useful target for prostate cancer therapies. Such targeting requires the identification of highly selective inhibitor-binding sites. Three-dimensional structure was calculated by homology modeling.

The overall structure of human prostate-specific antigen is composed of two beta-barrel domain, kallikrein loop and active-site triad His57, Asp102, and Ser195. Structure of human prostate-specific antigen is quite similar to hK-1 and HPK-3. The major differences were observed at kallikrein loop and position of active site.

The substrate-binding pocket is predominated by hydrophobic residues and the bottom of the specificity pocket contains Ser189 as in chymotrypsin, which provides substrate specificity. The hydrophobic, and preferentially aromatic (Trp215), amino acid residues are determinant of substrate binding due to the presence of hydrophobic crevice between Tyr99 and Trp215.

What makes a great PSA?

Produce minority materials. Remember our society is diverse in its composition and that Hispanic outlets need Spanish language material; all PSAs should use photos of diverse cultures. Keep the message simple, clear and concise; offer a call to action such as write for a piece of literature or call a phone number.

What are the 5 W’s that should be in a PSA?

PSA Checklist

The PSA fits into the allotted 30-60 second spot. The first words grab listeners and makes them want to hear the entire message. The PSA includes the five W’s (who, what, when, where and why). The PSA tells the listener what to do next or provides contact information for additional facts. The 10-second PSA contains 30-35 words. The 30-second PSA contains 60-65 words. The 60-second PSA contains 130-150 words. All numbers have been counted as words. For example, a seven-digit number is the equivalent of seven words.

: PSA Checklist

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