Understanding PID
PELVIC inflammatory disease (PID) is an infection of the female organs that occurs as a result of a sexually transmitted infection left untreated.
According to Dr Ryan Halsall, obstetrician-gynaecologist, PID is an infection of the interior female organs (cervix, womb, tubes and ovaries), which results in a significant burden in the realm of women’s health, accounting for a large portion of infertility and chronic pelvic pain disorders.
“It happens as a result of a sexually transmitted infection that wasn’t treated or was inadequately treated. Gonorrhoea and chlamydia continue to be the leading culprits with the newer mycoplasma genitalium adding to they mix,” he said.
Dr Halsall said PID can cause a wide range of symptoms and apart from the common ones such as lower belly pain, fever, abnormal vaginal discharge and bleeding after sex, women can also present with milder symptoms such as a vague lower belly pain.
“This latter presentation can often be ignored or even misdiagnosed, leading to longstanding infections that can damage your tubes and cause scarring inside the pelvis. This scarring is what’s responsible for the subsequent longstanding pelvic pain,” he explained.
He said PID is rather hard to diagnose with certainty and laparoscopy and biopsies of the womb are the only two sure ways.
“This is coupled with the wide range of symptoms along with the potentially devastating long-standing complications such as ectopic pregnancy and infertility. Doctors usually have a low threshold for treating PID. That is to say, if there is the slightest suspicion of PID, it’s better to just assume and treat rather than to wait for definitive confirmation,” Dr Halsall said.
With regards to treatment, the obstetrician-gynaecologist said most doctors prescribe antibiotics, and this should be continued for at least two weeks of therapy to ensure optimum results.
He also mentioned that surgery sometimes is required in severe cases where there may be abscess formation, and in rare instances ovaries, tubes and even the womb have been removed to control the infection.
— Kimberley Hibbert
