treatment [Fr, traitement] , 1. the care and management of a patient to combat, ameliorate, or prevent a disease, disorder, or injury. 2. a method of combating, ameliorating, or preventing a disease, disorder, or injury. Active or curative treatment is designed to cure; palliative treatment is directed to relieve pain and distress; prophylactic treatment is for the prevention of a disease or disorder; causal treatment focuses on the cause of a disorder; conservative treatment avoids radical measures and procedures; empiric treatment uses methods shown to be beneficial by experience; rational treatment is based on a knowledge of a disease process and the action of the measures used. Treatment may be pharmacologic, using drugs; surgical, involving operative procedures; or supportive, building the patient’s strength. It may be specific for the disorder, or symptomatic to relieve symptoms without effecting a cure.
