CSF testing in patients with neurological manifestations of Covid-19
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Neurological manifestations of covid and CSF findings
IRAS ID
285356
Contact name
David Harrington
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Barts Health
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 1 days
Research summary
Neurological manifestations have been noted in Covid-19 and range from headache or confusion, to suspected meningoencephalitis, CNS vasculitis, myelitis, and Guillian-Barre syndrome1,2,3,4. Little is known about the neurological manifestations of Covd-19 and minimal work has been done on the CSF findings of these patients. Covid-19 has been detected in CSF, but existing case series on neurological manifestations have not detected SARS-CoV-2 by PCR in CSF1. The aim is a purely descriptive/observational study to determine the presence or absence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the CSF of patients with confirmed covid-19 investigated for neurological manifestations. If possible we will also test for the presence of oligoclonal bands and possibly SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody depending on sample and test availability. CSF PCR testing may help establish if these manifestations are due to direct viral infection or not. The expectation is that no virus will be detected supporting the idea that neurological manifestations are due to antibody-mediated or cytokine mediated responses. The presence of oligoclonal bands or SARS-CoV-2 antibody may further support this hypothesis.
REC name
South Central - Oxford B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/SC/0262
Date of REC Opinion
24 Jul 2020
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion