PELVIC INFLAMMATORY DISEASE

(PID) also called salpingitis general, acute inflammation of the pelvic cavity in women, caused by bacterial infection of the cervix, uterus, ovaries, or Fallopian tubes. The disease is most often transmitted by sexual intercourse and is usually the result of infection with gonorrhea or chlamydia. Women who use intrauterine devices (IUDs) are somewhat more likely to contract PID, because some types of these devices enable infective bacteria to gain entry to the upper reproductive tract (via the cervix) more easily. PID occurs mainly in young women under age 25 who are sexually active. The symptoms of PID are similar to and may be mistaken for those of gonorrhea. They include pain in the abdomen and lower pelvis, chills, nausea, fever, and a thick and peculiarly odorous vaginal discharge. The major complication of PID is scarring of the Fallopian tubes, with infertility often a consequence. Indeed, PID is a major cause of female infertility. The incidence of ectopic pregnancies (i.e., those in which the fertilized egg becomes embedded outside the uterus) is 7 to 10 times higher in women with a history of PID. The treatment of PID consists of intensive antibiotic therapy to fight the infection, along with bed rest, pain-killing medications, and abstention from sexual intercourse until the infection disappears. The diagnosis and treatment of male sexual partners of women with PID is also called for, since failure to do so exposes the women to further attacks of the disease.