Background
Children with medical complexity (CMC) are a priority pediatric population, with high resource use and associated costs. Genome-wide sequencing is increasingly organized for CMC early in life as a diagnostic test. Polypharmacy becomes common as CMC age. Clinically relevant pharmacogenetic (PGx) information can be extracted from existing genome sequencing (GS) data via GS-PGx profiling. The role of GS-PGx profiling in the CMC population is unclear.
Methods
Prescribed medications were extracted from care plans of 802 eligible CMC enrolled in a structured Complex Care Program over a 10-year period. Drug-gene associations were annotated using curated Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium data. GS-PGx profiling was then performed for a subset of 50 CMC.
Results
Overall, 546 CMC (68%) were prescribed at least one medication with an established PGx association. In the GS-PGx subgroup, 24 (48%) carried variants in pharmacogenes with drug-gene guidelines for one or more of their current medications. All had findings of potential relevance to some medications, including 32 (64%) with variants in CYP2C19 that could affect their metabolism of proton-pump inhibitors.
Conclusion
GS-PGx profiling at the time of diagnostics-focused genetic testing could be an efficient way to incorporate precision prescribing practices into the lifelong care of CMC.
Impact
Polypharmacy and genetic test utilization are both common in children with medical complexity.
The role of repurposing genome sequencing data for pharmacogenetic profiling in children with medical complexity was previously unclear.
We identified a high rate of medication use with clinically relevant drug-gene associations in this priority pediatric population and demonstrated that relevant pharmacogenetic information can be extracted from their existing genome sequencing data.
Pharmacogenetic profiling at the time of diagnostics-focused genetic testing could be an efficient way to incorporate precision prescribing practices into the lifelong care of children with medical complexity.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.