Fundamentals of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

PID is the most common cause of illness affecting reproductive young women all over the world. It is a common problem encountered in gynecological infertility, family planning, postnatal, legal abortions and sterilization clinics in India and abroad. It results in social and economical consequences. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is a common clinical condition consisting of ascending infection from the lower genital tract to the upper genital tract, affecting approximately 8% of all reproductive-age women and 11% of African-American reproductive age women in the United States. Over one million cases of PID are diagnosed annually in the United States and it is the most common cause for hospitalization of reproductive-age women. The actual prevalence and incidence of PID is indeterminable due to the fact that the disease is not always apparent. Although acute signs and symptoms are often of moderate severity, long-term sequelae can be serious and include infertility, ectopic pregnancy, recurrent episodes of PID, and chronic pelvic pain.