title: Diagnosing PID--getting the balance right.
abstract: The objective of the study was to determine the clinical manifestations and diagnostic criteria used to diagnose presumptive pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) at the Sydney Sexual Health Centre (SSHC). The study was a retrospective, case-note review of all women diagnosed with presumptive PID between April 1991 and December 1997. Seven hundred and thirteen women were included. The commonest recorded symptoms were vaginal discharge (68%), lower abdominal pain (65%) and dyspareunia (57%), while adnexal tenderness (83%), cervical motion tenderness (75%) and cervicitis (56%) were the most frequently recorded examination findings. Sixty-two per cent were prescribed doxycycline and metronidazole. The recording of signs and symptoms in women with presumptive PID was poor and only 22% met the current Centers for Disease Control (CDC) diagnostic criteria. It is likely that PID is over diagnosed in this group of women. This may lead to under diagnosis of other conditions causing pelvic pain and may be detrimental to reproductive health.
authors.affiliation: Academic Unit of Sexual Health Medicine, Sydney Hospital, Australia.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marks
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Tideman
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Estcourt
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Smart
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mindel
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology; D000359:Aftercare / Q000592:standards; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003151:Community Health Centers; D003951:Diagnostic Errors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004282:Documentation / Q000592:standards; D004414:Dyspareunia / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008485:Medical Audit; D008499:Medical Records / Q000592:standards; D009517:New South Wales; D000292:Pelvic Inflammatory Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D002575:Uterine Cervicitis / Q000209:etiology; D019522:Vaginal Discharge / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents