Comprehensive PGX-Kashi Clinical Lab Kit:
Note: This is a test kit that will be mailed to you for an at home collection
Fasting Required: No
Lab: Kashi Clinical Laboratories, Inc.
Specimen: Buccal Swab
Results: Average processing time 5-7 business days
Note: Result turnaround times are an estimate and are not guaranteed. Our reference lab may need additional time due to weather, holidays, confirmation/repeat testing, or equipment maintenance.
Limitations: Interactions with environmental elements and other medications need to be taken into consideration with the genetic makeup of the patient when determining efficacy of a drug. Rare genetic differences may not be detected because the panel screens for the most common and well documented gene variants.
Description: Kashi Health offers testing for pain management biomarkers to help maximize the effectiveness of analgesic drug use. Managing chronic pain is a challenge for healthcare providers because of each patient’s unique tolerance to pain and differing reactions to prescribed medications. Unpleasant opioid side effects, such as nausea, vomiting, constipation and sedation, are common with pain management medication. The side effects can lead to work absences, poor work performance, the risk of job loss, and a diminished quality of life. An individual’s genetic makeup may predispose them to adverse effects of pain and reduced efficacy of medications. Pharmacogenomics may help connect the dots towards mitigating adverse drug reactions among genetically-vulnerable individuals and provide information for improved dosage recommendations for therapeutic effect.
Variant alleles for genes in the CYP pathway are common. However, prevalence differs among ethnic populations. For example, when considering CYP2D6, up to 20 percent of African Americans, and 10 percent of Caucasians have the poor metabolizer phenotype, whereas this phenotype is rarely observed in Asians. Because of this large variation in patient phenotypes it is important to determine each individual’s unique genetic background in order to help predict their response to pain medications.