Pelvic Inflammatory Disease, Diagnosis and Management (504)

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Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) results from ascending spread of infections from the endocervix to the upper genital tract causing infection and inflammation of endometrium, fallopian tubes, ovaries and pelvic peritoneum.

PID is a common cause of morbidity and delay in receiving appropriate treatment greatly increases the risk of sequelae such as infertility, ectopic pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain. PID is most commonly caused by sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoea. However organisms including Mycoplasma genitalium and anaerobes may be causal.

Women who have had recent instrumentation of the genital tract eg hysteroscopy, endometrial ablation, evacuation of uterus, termination of pregnancy, egg retrieval etc are at higher risk of ascending infection caused by organisms such as coliforms.