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Updated: May 21, 2026
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Candidate Gene Testing in Clinical Cohort Studies with Multiplexed Genotyping and Mass Spectrometry
Published on: June 21, 2018
Optimizing drug outcomes through pharmacogenetics: a case for preemptive genotyping.
J S Schildcrout1, J C Denny, E Bowton
1Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA.
Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
|June 29, 2012
Summary
Integrating genetic data into prescribing can enhance patient safety. Preemptive genotyping for 56 medications could prevent numerous adverse events, improving drug decision-making.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacogenomics
- Clinical Pharmacology
- Genetics
Background:
- Integrating patient genotype data into drug prescribing decisions can enhance safety.
- The frequency of pharmacogenetic prescribing opportunities and potential adverse events (AEs) mitigated are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the frequency of prescribing medications with known pharmacogenetic associations.
- To estimate the potential number of adverse events (AEs) that could be prevented by preemptive genotyping.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study of 52,942 patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).
- Examined the prescription frequency of 56 medications influenced by variant alleles over a 5-year period.
- Estimated preventable AEs using published data for six severe, genetically linked AEs.
Main Results:
- Approximately 64.8% of individuals were prescribed at least one medication with a pharmacogenetic association.
- An estimated 383 severe adverse events could have been prevented with preemptive genotyping.
- Identified frequent opportunities for pharmacogenetic prescribing and AE mitigation.
Conclusions:
- Multiplexed, preemptive genotyping is an efficient alternative to current reactive methods.
- Preemptive genotyping has the potential to significantly improve patient safety in drug prescribing.
- Routine integration of genotype data can optimize pharmacogenetic prescribing.
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