Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (cont.)

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Medical Author:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Outlook

If diagnosed and treated early, the patient outcome is good. The outcome may not be as good if individuals wait too long before treatment and/or continue to engage in unsafe sexual practices. Complications that can occur include:

Tubal damage and scarring can result in infertility. PID is the most common cause of infertility in women. Following a single episode of PID, 8% of women were infertile; after two episodes, 19.5% of women were infertile; and after three or more episodes, 40% of women were infertile.
Ectopic pregnancy rates are 12%-15% higher in women who have had an episode of pelvic inflammatory disease.
Ovarian abscesses can occur after an episode of PID. Untreated PID also puts you at risk for a tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA). Rupture of a TOA can result in widespread peritoneal infection with shock and can be fatal.
Females diagnosed with PID are at increased risk of getting PID again. As many as one-third of women who have had PID will have the disease at least one more time. With each case, the risk of becoming infertile is increased.
Chronic pelvic pain is defined as pain in the reproductive organs or pelvis of at least six months duration that is severe enough to impact a woman's functioning. The pain may occur both during and/or apart from the menstrual period. As many as one-third of women with PID develop chronic pelvic pain, although the exact reasons for this are unclear. Chronic pelvic pain may be related to the scarring and inflammation associated with PID and occurs in up to 18% of women with PID.
Enlargement of a Fallopian tube is known as hydrosalpinx. After an episode of PID, the damaged Fallopian tube can become blocked, fluid-filled and enlarged.