Genetic Pharmacology Service for Adult and Pediatric Patients
Principal Investigator: Tracy A. Glauser, MD
Adverse reactions to prescription drugs cause more than 100,000 deaths each year and lead to 10 percent of all U.S. health care spending. Understanding the genetic make-up of a person and how he or she may react to a drug can help a physician prescribe the best pharmaceutical solution.
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center has launched a genetic pharmacology service that enables physicians to test 52 common medications against four well-defined genes. This pharmacogenetic test, or PG test, will help clinicians determine how patients will respond to certain prescribed medications.
Scientific evidence suggests that a PG test, required only once in a lifetime, may improve patient safety. Clinical studies have also shown that for some medications, consulting PG test results can reduce the risk of side effects, decrease the amount of time necessary to reach a therapeutic dose, or suggest that a different medication may be more effective.
This gene/drug testing capability, introduced in late 2004, is among the first such services in the country. Clinicians will be able to test additional genes against drug interaction in the future as more genes are identified and mapped.
The service is a joint effort between Tracy Glauser, MD, and Sander Vinks, PharmD, PhD, of Cincinnati Children's.
