Virtual Medical Centre

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID)

• What is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease?
• Who gets Pelvic Inflammatory Disease?
• Predisposing Factors
• Progression
• Probable Outcomes
• How is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Diagnosed?
• How is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease treated?

What is Pelvic Inflammatory Disease?

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) occurs in women and involves the female reproductive organs: vagina, cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and other contiguous structures. It is caused by the ascent of micro-organisms from the lower vagina to the upper genital tract. Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and a wide variety of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria are recognised as causes of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease.

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease is a broad term encompassing a variety of upper genital tract infections such as salpingitis, salpingo-oophoritis, endometritis, tubo-ovarian inflammatory masses, and pelvic or diffuse peritonitis.

Who gets Pelvic Inflammatory Disease?

The estimated incidence of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease is 100-200 per 100 000 women. One third of women affected by Pelvic Inflammatory Disease are under the age of twenty whilst two thirds are under the age of 25.

Predisposing Factors

Predisposing risk factors for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease include:

• sexually active
• adolescent age
• multiple sexual partners
• use of an intrauterine contraceptive device
• previous history of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
• Chlamydial or Gonoccocal infections

Progression

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease can lead to a variety of problems including:

• tubo-ovarian abscesses
• recurrent infection
• increased risk of ectopic pregnancy
• infertility or subfertility
• chronic pelvic pain, salpingitis and adhesion formation