GeneDx, the Gaithersburg, Maryland-based genomics company, announced new data from a collaboration with Seattle Children’s showing that rapid genome sequencing delivers meaningful diagnostic value well beyond the intensive care units where it’s traditionally been used. The study, published in Genetics in Medicine, the official journal of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, tracked more than 1,000 pediatric inpatients over a 3.5-year period across Seattle Children’s NICU, PICU, CICU, and non-critical care wards, finding an overall diagnostic yield of 35%. Dr. Tara L. Wenger framed the finding as a shift in how the field should think about who benefits from this kind of testing: “Historically, rapid genome sequencing has primarily been associated with critically ill infants in intensive care settings. What this study shows is that the benefits extend far beyond the NICU, PICU, and CICU. Many hospitalized children across pediatric care settings may benefit from earlier genomic diagnosis, particularly patients who have experienced prolonged and unresolved clinical journeys.”
Where the Diagnostic Gains Showed Up Most
The most striking results came from outside the ICU entirely. Non-critical care inpatient wards actually posted the highest diagnostic yield in the study at 43%, and children hospitalized specifically for faltering growth saw a 63% diagnostic yield, with researchers identifying 37 distinct genetic diagnoses across 36 patients, including four children who received dual diagnoses. Dr. Alexandra C. Keefe, a clinical genetics physician at Seattle Children’s, called that faltering-growth finding especially notable given how these patients are typically triaged: “The exceptionally high diagnostic yield identified in children experiencing faltering growth is particularly striking because these patients have not traditionally been viewed as clear candidates for rapid genome sequencing. These findings suggest what we’ve long suspected: many children outside traditional critical care settings may have underlying genetic conditions that are being missed or diagnosed too late. Many children may not even be referred to genetics in the outpatient setting or recognized to have a genetic condition. Earlier genomic testing and finding a diagnosis during hospitalization meaningfully improves clinical management and long-term outcomes.”
An Equity Finding Worth Noting
Beyond diagnostic yield, GeneDx’s release also highlighted a health equity outcome: expanding rapid genome sequencing hospital-wide reduced outpatient genetics wait times and eliminated race-based disparities in access to testing that had existed under the prior, ICU-limited testing model.That’s a meaningful detail on its own, since it suggests the barrier to broader genomic testing wasn’t just clinical suspicion of who might benefit, but also which patients were getting referred for testing in the first place.
Part of a Longer-Running Partnership, and a Gaithersburg Company’s National Push
This isn’t the first research to come out of GeneDx’s work with Seattle Children’s. The two have published related findings before, including a June 2025 study in The Journal of Pediatrics on rapid exome and genome sequencing as first-tier tests for non-critical care pediatric inpatients, and earlier NICU-focused research in the American Journal of Human Genetics, suggesting this new hospital-wide data is the latest step in an ongoing, multi-year research collaboration rather than a one-off study. GeneDx, headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland within the BioHealth Capital Region, describes itself as having diagnosed more than 4,800 genetic diseases and published over 1,000 research papers across 25 years in the field. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Linda Genen framed the study’s broader significance for other hospitals watching from the outside: “This study provides an important blueprint for health systems seeking to make genomic medicine a standard part of inpatient care. By expanding access to testing in non-critical care units, health systems can bring genomic answers to more children, reduce bottlenecks in specialty care, and build a more equitable and scalable model for precision medicine.”
