Comparison of the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of gonococcal and nongonococcal pelvic inflammatory disease seen in a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases, 1978-1979.

Abstract

Despite the magnitude of the clinical and economic impact of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), little is known about its outpatient presentation. We compared retrospectively the clinical and epidemiologic characteristics of 70 women with gonococcal PID, 44 women with nongonococcal PID, and 8,576 control women without PID seen in a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases. Gonococcal PID was associated with black race (P less than .002) and a shorter period of abdominal pain (P less than .02). Nongonococcal PID was associated with white race (P less than .005) and a history of previous gonococcal infection (P less than .02). There were no significant differences between groups in age, parity, number of sexual partners, contraceptive use, or febrility. PID seen in women attending our outpatient clinic is often mild, and the diagnosis uncertain. We found few reliable indicators to aid in the clinical diagnosis or to distinguish etiology. More studies are needed to improve the outpatient management of PID and limit its impact.