A new study using rapid DNA sequencing to diagnose sick infants has begun in Utah, the Deseret News reports.
Josh Bonkowsky, professor of pediatric neurology at the University of Utah, tells it that two infants in the NICU have undergone sequencing. The paper adds that parents are also being asked to provide samples for sequencing and that they can opt to have results returned to them. The Deseret News notes that while the cost of sequencing and getting results can be high — though it is covered for study participants — it is about the same as a NICU stay and could bring patients' costs down over time.
"It just helps us alter some of our decision-making and goals for a baby to be able to get home depending on what their diagnosis is," neonatologist Sabrina Malone Jenkins tells the Deseret News.
It adds that testing of the first infant hasn't revealed a diagnosis and results from the second infant are expected soon. It notes the study is to run through 2021.