Genetic/Genomic factors are known to contribute to variability of pharmacologic responses in some patients. How does the variability of response result in tailoring pharmacologic agents to the care of

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Introduction:
Pharmacologic agents are prescribed to improve the health of patients by treating diseases and alleviating symptoms. However, patients have a different response to different drugs due to genetic/genomic factors which can lead to variability in the pharmacologic response. This can cause harm to a patient and ineffective treatment. Therefore, tailoring pharmacologic agents to the care of these patients becomes essential. In this essay, we will discuss how tailoring pharmacologic agents can improve the health outcomes of the patients.

Tailoring Pharmacologic Agents:
Pharmacogenomics is the study of how a person’s genetic makeup can affect his/her response to medication. Tailoring pharmacologic agents can help reduce the variability in pharmacologic response of the patients. Pharmacogenomics helps the physicians to identify the genetic variations in the patients that can affect the metabolism and excretion of drugs from the body. Such genetic variations can help in identifying the right medication and the right dosage for the patient.

For instance, one of the widely known examples is the metabolism of Warfarin, an oral anticoagulant medication. The response of the patient varies between the narrow therapeutic range leading to bleeding disorders in high doses or blood clots in low doses. A study shows that pharmacogenomic testing to identify the genotype of patients led to a reduction in bleeding by 31-40% and a reduction in hospitalization rates by more than 30% (Peterson et al., 2016).

Another example is the use of abacavir in patients who are human leukocyte antigen B (HLA-B) positive. HLA-B is a genetic marker that has been shown to predispose certain populations to adverse reactions to abacavir. It was found that screening for the HLA-B allele could reduce the incidence of hypersensitivity reactions to abacavir by 50%-60%. (Mallal et al., 2008).

Conclusion:
Tailoring pharmacologic agents can help in improving the health outcomes of the patient. The advancements in genomics have allowed physicians to identify the genetic markers that are associated with different drug responses. Genetic testing before the medication can help in reducing the variability in the response, thereby providing a better treatment outcome for patients. Therefore, it is essential for the medical professionals to consider pharmacogenomics in tailoring pharmacologic agents for patients to ensure a better and safer treatment.

References:
Mallal, S., Phillips, E., Carosi, G., Molina, J., Workman, C., Tomažič, J., … & Wikstrom, K. (2008). HLA-B* 5701 screening for hypersensitivity to abacavir. New England Journal of Medicine, 358(6), 568-579.
Peterson, J. F., Bowton, E. A., Field, J. R., Beller, M., Mitchell, J. A., Schildcrout, J. S., … & Denny, J. C. (2016). Electronic health record design and implementation for pharmacogenomics: a local perspective. Genetics in Medicine, 18(9), 908-915.