When moments matter: Finding answers with rapid exome sequencing

Background

When time is of the essence in critical care cases, a fast molecular diagnosis is often necessary to help health care providers quickly determine best next steps for treatments, prognosis, and counseling of their patients. In this paper, we present the diagnostic rates and improved quality of life for patients undergoing clinical rapid exome sequencing.

Methods

The clinical histories and results of 41 patients undergoing rapid exome sequencing were retrospectively reviewed.

Results

Clinical rapid exome sequencing identified a definitive diagnosis in 13/41 (31.7%) and other relevant findings in 17 of the patients (41.5%). The average time to verbal report was 7 days; to written report was 11 days.

Conclusions

Our observations demonstrate the utility and effectiveness of rapid family‐based diagnostic exome sequencing in improving patients care.

Clinical diagnostic exome sequencing in dystonia: Genetic testing challenges for complex conditions

Patients with dystonia are particularly appropriate for diagnostic exome sequencing (DES), due to the complex, diverse features and genetic heterogeneity. Personal and family history data were collected from test requisition forms and medical records from 189 patients with reported dystonia and available family members received for clinical DES. Of them, 20.2% patients had a positive genetic finding associated with dystonia. Detection rates for cases with isolated and combined dystonia were 22.4% and 25.0%, respectively. 71.4% of the cohort had co-occurring non-movement-related findings and a detection rate of 24.4%. Patients with childhood-onset dystonia trended toward higher detection rates (31.8%) compared to infancy (23.6%), adolescence (12.5%), and early-adulthood onset (16%). Uncharacterized gene findings were found in 6.7% (8/119) of cases that underwent analysis for genes without an established disease relationship. Patients with intellectual disability/developmental delay, seizures/epilepsy and/or multifocal dystonia were more likely to have positive findings (P = .0093, .0397, .0006). Four (2.1%) patients had findings in two genes, and seven (3.7%) had reclassification after the original report due to new literature, new clinical information or reanalysis request. Pediatric patients were more likely to have positive findings (P = .0180). Our observations show utility of family-based DES in patients with dystonia and illustrate the complexity of testing.

Clinical diagnostic exome evaluation for an infant with a lethal disorder: genetic diagnosis of TARP syndrome and expansion of the phenotype in a patient with a newly reported RBM10 alteration

Background

Diagnostic Exome Sequencing (DES) has been shown to be an effective tool for diagnosis individuals with suspected genetic conditions.

Case Presentation

We report a male infant born with multiple anomalies including bilateral dysplastic kidneys, cleft palate, bilateral talipes, and bilateral absence of thumbs and first toes. Prenatal testing including chromosome analysis and microarray did not identify a cause for the multiple congenital anomalies. Postnatal diagnostic exome studies (DES) were utilized to find a molecular diagnosis for the patient.

Exome sequencing of the proband, mother, and father showed a previously unreported maternally inherited RNA binding motif protein 10 (RBM10) c.1352_1353delAG (p.E451Vfs*66) alteration. Mutations in RBM10 are associated with TARP syndrome, an X-linked recessive disorder originally described with cardinal features of talipes equinovarus, atrial septal defect, Robin sequence, and persistent left superior vena cava.

Conclusion

DES established a molecular genetic diagnosis of TARP syndrome for a neonatal patient with a poor prognosis in whom traditional testing methods were uninformative and allowed for efficient diagnosis and future reproductive options for the parents. Other reported cases of TARP syndrome demonstrate significant variability in clinical phenotype. The reported features in this infant including multiple hemivertebrae, imperforate anus, aplasia of thumbs and first toes have not been reported in previous patients, thus expanding the clinical phenotype for this rare disorder.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12881-017-0426-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.