Is universal Collection Medium ( UCM ) as suitable as the Standard Transport Medium ( STM ) for Hybrid Capture II ( HC-2 ) assay?
HC-2 results from the two media were highly correlated: high-risk HPV (kappa=0.92; r(2)=0.92), low-risk HPV (kappa=0.85; r(2)=0.86) and NG/CT (kappa=0.96; r(2)=0.81). Despite being obtained from a second specimen, the UCM HC-2 results were equivalent to those obtained with the standard medium STM and the UCM medium.
Low SES was initially associated with higher disease activity, pain, and PtGA, and poorer function. At 1 year, outcomes were similar to those with high SES, with the exception of HAQ-DI.