Pharmacogenomics and Pharmacoeconomics
Genetic testing will help not to make a mistake with the calculation of the dosage of drugsABC Magazine based on AP materials: Gene testing helps get warfarin dose right
Genetic testing of patients before starting a course of treatment with a popular anticoagulant will help to accurately calculate the dose of the drug and save patients from having to stay in the clinic.
Approximately 2 million Americans are forced to undergo anticoagulant treatment every year to prevent the formation of blood clots after surgery or for other medical reasons.
However, blood thinning drugs are among the most dangerous. The ideal dose of intake for one person may be 10 times more than that required for another, and even some foods may affect it.
Too high a dosage of anticoagulants increases the risk of bleeding, too low is dangerous for the formation of blood clots. In any case, an error can lead to the death of the patient. Because of this, patients are hospitalized in the clinic during the first six months of taking the drug.
Until now, there have already been tests for the analysis of genes responsible for the metabolism of the drug. However, their cost was about $ 250 – with the cost of the drug itself less than $ 6 per monthly dose.
During the new study, tests were taken from the inside of the cheek from 896 patients who planned to start treatment with anticoagulants for genetic testing. Based on the results of testing, doctors gave individual recommendations and calculated the personal dosage of the drug for each patient.
In the control group, 2688 patients with similar diagnoses were selected, who were also prescribed anticoagulant treatment, but the dosage of the drug was calculated by a doctor without additional studies.
Six months later, 18% of patients from the "genetically tested" group and 26% from the control group were hospitalized, that is, the preliminary test reduced the risk of complications by 30%.
The researchers believe that this is a very good result. After all, even reducing the number of hospitalizations by only 2 out of 100 patients who have undergone genetic testing already allows you to save more money than you need to spend on genetic analysis.
Scientists are confident that the new test will help make taking anticoagulants safer for patients' health. At the same time, new drugs replacing the anticoagulants of the old generation must also be tested in order to make a correct comparison of their effectiveness.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru19.03.2010