Measuring coping in multiple sclerosis: The Coping Index-MS.

BACKGROUND: Coping in multiple sclerosis (MS) refers to cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage stresses imposed by the illness. Existing generic and disease-specific coping scales do not meet modern guidelines for scale development and cannot produce interval-level metrics to allow for change scores. OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this study was to develop a brief patient-reported outcome measure for coping in MS, capable of interval-level measurement. METHODS: Qualitative work in 43 people with MS leads to a draft scale which was administered to 5747 participants, with longitudinal collection in 2290. A calibration sample of 1000 subjects split into development and validation sets was used to generate three scales consistent with Rasch model expectations. RESULTS: The total Coping Index-MS (CI-MS-T), CI-MS-Internal (CI-MS-I) and CI-MS-External (CI-MS-E) cover total, internal and externally focused coping. All three scales are capable of interval-level measurement. Trajectory analysis of 9000 questionnaires showed two trajectories in CI-MS-T: Group 1 showed a low level of coping with slight decline over 40 months, while Group 2 had a better and stable level of coping due to improving CI-MS-I which compensated for the deteriorating CI-MS-E over time. CI-MS-T < 30 identified group membership at baseline. CONCLUSION: The CI-MS-T, CI-MS-I and CI-MS-E, comprising 20 items, provide interval-level measurement and are free-for-use in not-for-profit settings.

Early (2008-2010) hospital outbreak of Klebsiella pneumoniae producing OXA-48 carbapenemase in the UK.

OXA-48 ß-lactamase is one of the several emerging carbapenemases. Pre-2007 reports were almost exclusively from Turkey, but subsequently its distribution has expanded. We report an early and prolonged outbreak in the UK of Klebsiella pneumoniae producing OXA-48 carbapenemase affecting a predominantly renal cohort in a West London hospital. Carbapenemase production was detected by the modified Hodge test, with confirmation by PCR for bla(OXA-48). Isolates were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Risk factors for acquisition were determined. Between January 2008 and April 2010, 20 K. pneumoniae isolates with reduced susceptibility to carbapenems were identified from 13 patients, comprising 12 renal cases and 1 oncology patient; 8 were outpatients and 5 were inpatients; 7 were deemed to be colonised and 6 infected, including 2 with bacteraemia, 1 of whom died. Hodge tests were positive for all isolates and all had bla(OXA-48). PFGE showed strain similarity in isolates from nine patients, whereas four patients' isolates were distinct, representing three further PFGE profiles and suggesting horizontal spread of bla(OXA-48). Most patients had received antibiotics in the preceding 3 months and all had healthcare contact, but none had recent travel to areas with endemic OXA-48 Enterobacteriaceae. The renal cohort was screened and a prevalence rate of 0.17% was found. Interventions that collectively brought the outbreak under control included strict infection control precautions, screening, improved laboratory detection protocols and antibiotic stewardship rounds.