Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a clinical syndrome comprising a spectrum of infectious and inflammatory diseases of the upper female genital tract. The diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) can include any combination of endometritis, salpingitis, tubo-ovarian abscess, or pelvic peritonitis.[1] Each of these disease processes is characterized by ascending spread of organisms from the vagina or cervix to the structures of the upper female genital tract. Although PID is most notable for the associated risk of severe, long-term sequelae, the infections may be asymptomatic ("silent") or overt with mild to severe symptoms. The clinical syndrome of acute (and subacute) PID—usually defined as symptoms for fewer than 30 days—can be due to a variety of pathogens, often including, but not limited to, Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis.[2] In contrast, chronic pelvic inflammatory disease (symptoms for greater than 30 days) is a separate disorder usually related to infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Actinomyces species (Table 1).[2] This module will focus on acute and subacute PID.