Overview of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

Pelvic inflammatory disease refers to inflammation of the female upper reproductive tract and surrounding tissues, mainly including endometritis, salpingitis, tubo-ovarian abscess, and pelvic peritonitis. Inflammation can be confined to one site or involve several sites at the same time. The most common are salpingitis and salpingo-oophoritis.

The main pathogens that cause pelvic inflammatory disease are staphylococci, streptococci, Escherichia coli, and anaerobic bacteria. The typical symptoms of pelvic inflammatory disease are fever, lower abdominal pain that refuses to be pressed, and a large amount of purulent vaginal discharge. It may be accompanied by fatigue, back pain, and menstrual disorders. In severe cases, high fever, chills, headache, and loss of appetite may be seen. If there is peritonitis, digestive system symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distension may occur. If an abscess is formed, bladder irritation symptoms such as frequent urination, urgency, and pain may occur in the front; rectal irritation symptoms such as tenesmus, anal distension, diarrhea, and difficulty in defecation may occur in the back. When sepsis occurs, it is often accompanied by abscess lesions in other parts of the body.

The main causes of pelvic inflammatory disease are: infection after delivery or abortion; infection after intrauterine surgery; poor menstrual hygiene; direct spread of inflammation from adjacent organs, the most common of which are appendicitis and peritonitis.

The laboratory tests required for pelvic inflammatory disease include: vaginal, cervical or urethral secretion smear; pathogen culture; posterior fornix puncture; B-type or grayscale ultrasound scanning and film; laparoscopy.

Currently, the treatment of pelvic inflammatory disease includes physical therapy, vital therapy, antibacterial drug therapy, etc. Women who are sexually active and menstruating should pay attention to menstrual hygiene, do a good job of contraception, reduce unnecessary gynecological surgeries, and prevent the occurrence of pelvic inflammatory disease.