Application of rapid clinical exome sequencing technology in the diagnosis of critically ill pediatric patients with suspected genetic diseases.

PURPOSE

This study evaluates the efficacy of rapid clinical exome sequencing (CES) and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing for diagnosing genetic disorders in critically ill pediatric patients.

METHODS

A multi-centre investigation was conducted, enrolling critically ill pediatric patients suspected of having genetic disorders from March 2019 to December 2020. Peripheral blood samples from patients and their parents were analyzed using CES (proband-parent) and mtDNA sequencing (proband-mother) based on Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology.

RESULTS

The study included 44 pediatric patients (24 males, 20 females) with a median age of 27 days. The median turnaround time for genetic tests was 9.5 days. Genetic disorders were diagnosed in 25 patients (56.8%): 5 with chromosome microduplication/deletion syndromes (11.3%), 1 with UPD-related disease (2.3%), and 19 with monogenic diseases (43.2%). variants were identified in nine patients (36.0%). A neonate was diagnosed with two genetic disorders due to a homozygous variant and an gene variation.

CONCLUSION

Rapid genetic diagnosis is crucial for critically ill pediatric patients with suspected genetic disorders. CES and mtDNA sequencing offer precise and timely results, guiding treatment and reducing mortality and disability, making them suitable primary diagnostic tools.