Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

Pathophysiology

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection of the female reproductive organs. It usually occurs when sexually transmitted bacteria spread from your vagina to your uterus, fallopian tubes or ovaries. Many women who develop pelvic inflammatory disease either experience no signs or symptoms or don't seek treatment. Pelvic inflammatory disease may be detected only later when you have trouble getting pregnant or if you develop chronic pelvic pain.

Disease statistics

 samples tested positive to one or more of the microorganisms, 1,099 corresponding to female patients and 242 to male patients. The microorganisms found in women were: Gardnerella vaginalis (39.1%), Candida albicans (21.3%), Trichomonas vaginalis (16.8%), Chlamydia trachomatis (11.5%); Neisseria gonorrhoeae (3.4%), Mycoplasma hominis (2.6%); Ureaplasma urealyticum (4.1%) and Treponema pallidum (1.6%).

Treatment

Several types of antibiotics can cure PID. Antibiotic treatment does not, however, reverse any scarring caused by the infection. For this reason, it is critical that a woman receive care immediately if she has pelvic pain or other symptoms of PID. Prompt antibiotic treatment can prevent severe damage to the reproductive organs.

Research

Pelvic inflammatory disease is diagnosed clinically, with laboratory and imaging studies reserved for patients who have an uncertain diagnosis, are severely ill, or do not respond to initial therapy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention diagnostic criteria include uterine, adnexal, or cervical motion tenderness with no other obvious cause in women at risk of Pelvic inflammatory disease.