Pharmacogenomics Applied to Chronic Pain Treatment in Primary Care

Chronic pain affects millions of Americans on an annual basis. Pharmacologic pain management strategies, which includes opioid analgesics, are widely used to treat chronic pain. The selection of an analagesic can be guided by pharmacogenomic (PGx) data via existing Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) guidelines. The rationale for PGx-guided treatment is based upon the CYP2D6 bioactivation of tramadol, codeine, and hydrocodone, whereas patients with reduced CYP2D6 function may not activate these drugs and therefore may not experience the effective treatment from these drugs. A prior pragmatic proof-of-concept trial testing the effects of CYP2D6-guided opioid prescribing on pain control provides additional evidence for this study. This study is designed to evaluate the impact of PGx-guided treatment on chronic pain score improvement compared to standard conventional treatment in a pragmatic setting. It will test for multiple genes to enable incorporation of CPIC guidelines for other drugs (e.g., antidepressants, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs), account for drug-drug interactions, and utilize recently updated CYP2D6 phenotype translation thresholds. Primary objective: Identify the effects of providing pharmacogenomic (PGx) results and recommendations for patients with chronic pain who are treated in primary care clinics versus standard care. Secondary objective: Explore non-pain related uses of PGx information in a population with chronic pain.