Patel, M., Dillon, H., Moore, Rebecca and Barry, Caroline (2026) 3390 Establishing the prevalence of prescriptions for pharmacogenetic testable medications in a geriatric medicine inpatient cohort. Age and Ageing, 55 (Supplement_1). ISSN 0002-0729
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Introduction: Genetic testing in medical practice is becoming increasingly commonplace. Particularly relevant to geriatric medicine and polypharmacy is the science of pharmacogenetics; the testing of an individual patient to check for drug-gene interactions, which can determine if a new or existing prescription is a good fit for them. We wanted to establish the prevalence of prescriptions for medicines that have a known pharmacogenetic target in a population of people admitted to a geriatric medicine department at a UK teaching hospital. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis, using a year’s worth of electronic prescribing records (1/6/23–31/05/24), for patients admitted under the care of any named geriatrician at a single site teaching hospital in the UK. We cross referenced those prescriptions against a reference list of pharmacogenetic medications (PGxMed) with a known applicable pharmacogenetic test. Results: The department recorded 9115 admissions over this time period. Most patients received at least one PGxMed prescription, with nearly two thirds (61%, or 5528 out of 9115) of admissions in one year being associated with at least one PGx medication. 6 was the highest number of PGxMed prescriptions recorded against a single patient (3 instances). ‘Cholesterol lowering,’ ‘Analgesic’ and ‘Anticoagulant’ were the top three classes of medication by frequency respectively. Conclusions: Prescriptions for PGxMeds are highly prevalent in geriatric medicine in-patients, and more research is required to determine what the most cost-effective PGx testing approach is. There could be a role for PGx to help identify ineffective or harmful medication in this patient group. Given that geriatricians possess an acknowledged expertise in medication review, whilst PGx is still a nascent field of testing from a UK perspective, it is one for them to be aware of since it is likely to become of more relevance in clinical practice over the next few years.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Mental Health and Social Care (fka Lifespan Health) Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Public Health |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Feb 2026 11:38 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Feb 2026 07:30 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/101869 |
| DOI: | 10.1093/ageing/afaf368.166 |
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