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Omicron generally causes milder disease than previous strains of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2), especially in fully vaccinated individuals. However, incompletely vaccinated children may develop Omicron‐related complications such as those affecting the central nervous system. To characterize the spectrum of clinical manifestations of neuro‐COVID and to identify potential biomarkers associated with clinical outcomes, we recruited 15 children hospitalized for Omicron‐related neurological manifestations in three hospitals in Hong Kong (9 boys and 6 girls aged 1–13 years). All were unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated. Fourteen (93.3%) were admitted for convulsion, including benign febrile seizure (n = 7), complex febrile seizure (n = 2), seizure with fever (n = 3), and recurrent breakthrough seizure (n = 2), and the remaining nonconvulsive patient developed encephalopathic state with impaired consciousness. None of the seven children with benign febrile seizure and six of eight children with other neurological manifestations had residual deficits at 9‐month follow‐up. SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA was undetectable in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) specimens of seven patients who underwent lumbar puncture. Spike‐and‐wave/sharp waves affecting the frontal lobes were detected in four of seven (57.1%) patients who underwent electroencephalogram. Children with Omicron‐related neurological manifestations had significantly higher blood levels of IL‐6 (p < 0.001) and CHI3L1 (p = 0.022) than healthy controls, and higher CSF levels of IL‐6 (p = 0.002) than children with non‐COVID‐19‐related febrile illnesses. Higher CSF‐to‐blood ratios of IL‐8 and CHI3L1 were associated with longer length of stay, whereas higher ratios of IL‐6 and IL‐8 were associated with higher blood tau level. The role of CSF:blood ratio of IL‐6, IL‐8, and CHI3L1 as prognostic markers for neuro–COVID should be further evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

publisher‐imprint‐name Springer volume‐issue‐count 1 issue‐article‐count 0 issue‐toc‐levels 0 issue‐pricelist‐year 2016 issue‐copyright‐holder The Author(s) issue‐copyright‐year 2016 article‐contains‐esm Yes article‐numbering‐style Unnumbered article‐registration‐date‐year 2016 article‐registration‐date‐month 5 article‐registration‐date‐day 4 article‐toc‐levels 0 toc‐levels 0 volume‐type Regular journal‐product ArchiveJournal numbering‐style Unnumbered article‐grants‐type OpenChoice metadata‐grant OpenAccess abstract‐grant OpenAccess bodypdf‐grant OpenAccess bodyhtml‐grant OpenAccess bibliography‐grant OpenAccess esm‐grant OpenAccess online‐first false pdf‐file‐reference BodyRef/PDF/40169_2016_Article_98.pdf pdf‐type Typeset target‐type OnlinePDF issue‐type Regular article‐type OriginalPaper journal‐subject‐primary Medicine & Public Health journal‐subject‐secondary Medicine/Public Health, general journal‐subject‐collection Medicine open‐access true --> Background: Chromosomal microarray offers superior sensitivity for identification of submicroscopic copy number variants (CNV) and it is advocated to be the first tier genetic testing for patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this regard, diagnostic yield of array comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) for ASD patients is determined in a cohort of Chinese patients in Hong Kong. Methods: A combined adult and paediatric cohort of 68 Chinese ASD patients (41 patients in adult group and 27 patients in paediatric group). The genomic DNA extracted from blood samples were analysed by array CGH using NimbleGen CGX‐135K oligonucleotide array. Results: We identified 15 CNV and eight of them were clinically significant. The overall diagnostic yield was 11.8 %. Five clinically significant CNV were detected in the adult group and three were in the paediatric group, providing diagnostic yields of 12.2 and 11.1 % respectively. The most frequently detected CNV was 16p13.11 duplications which were present in 4 patients (5.9 % of the cohort). Conclusions: In this study, a satisfactory diagnostic yield of array CGH was demonstrated in a Chinese ASD patient cohort which supported the clinical usefulness of array CGH as the first line testing of ASD in Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]