Diagnostic yield of whole exome sequencing in a cohort of 825 patients

Genetic testing plays a significant role in rare disease diagnostics. The most widespread technology for genetic testing of patients is next generation sequencing or second-generation sequencing, including whole exome sequencing (WES). Our laboratory performed diagnostic WES on 1660 samples representing 825 index patients aged 0-84 years between 2014 and 2020. The cohort is comprised of consecutive patients with a rare disease referred for diagnostic WES with analysis of all known disease genes. The main referrals were paediatric, clinical genetic and adult neurology departments. Patients' symptoms were translated to terms in the Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) system and each symptom assigned to a single top-level HPO term. Variants were classified according to ACMG-AMP guidelines. The diagnostic yield in this cohort was 33.7 % with 278 patients receiving a genetic diagnosis. Patients with complex phenotypes with involvement of several organ systems were more likely to receive a genetic diagnosis. Higher diagnostic yields were seen for phenotypes including growth abnormalities, abnormalities of the ear or of the musculoskeletal system as well.