What is pelvic inflammatory disease

Pelvic inflammatory disease refers to an infectious disease of the female reproductive tract, which includes endometritis, fallopian tube abscess, pelvic peritonitis, etc. The inflammation may be confined to a certain tissue and organ, or it may spread and cause infection in several tissues and organs. It is quite harmful to women and can easily lead to more serious gynecological diseases and infertility.

Pathogens 1. Endogenous pathogens. It comes from the flora originally residing in the vagina, including aerobic bacteria and anaerobic bacteria. It can be an infection with only aerobic bacteria or only anaerobic bacteria, but mixed infection with aerobic and anaerobic bacteria is more common. The main aerobic and facultative anaerobic bacteria are Staphylococcus aureus and hemolytic Streptococcus. Escherichia coli; anaerobic bacteria include Bacillus fragilis, Peptococcus, and Peptostreptococcus. The characteristics of anaerobic bacterial infection are easy formation of pelvic abscess, infectious thrombophlebitis, and pus with fecal odor and bubbles. According to literature reports, anaerobic bacteria can be cultured in 70%-80% of pelvic abscesses. 2. Exogenous pathogens , mainly pathogens of sexually transmitted diseases, such as Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and Mycoplasma, and others include Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, etc. According to reports from Western countries, the main pathogens of pelvic inflammatory disease are Chlamydia and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. In the United States, 40%-50% of pelvic inflammatory disease is caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Chlamydia trachomatis can be isolated in 10%-40% of pelvic inflammatory diseases. Screening and treatment of Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis in the lower genital tract have reduced the incidence of pelvic inflammatory disease. In China, the number of pelvic inflammatory diseases caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia is increasing significantly, and the number of patients with fallopian tube obstruction is also increasing. This has attracted people's attention, but there is still controversy about the cause of genital tract inflammation. Sexually transmitted diseases are often accompanied by aerobic and anaerobic infections. It may be that after chlamydia and Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections cause damage to the fallopian tubes, secondary aerobic and anaerobic infections are likely to occur.

Infection route : 1. Ascending spread. The pathogen enters the vagina from the vulva and anus, ascends along the mucous membrane, and spreads through the cervix, endometrium, and fallopian tubes to the ovaries and abdominal cavity. It is the main route of infection by gonococci and staphylococci. Hematogenous spread. It is the main way of tuberculosis infection, which usually starts with infection of other organs such as the lungs and renal pelvis, and then spreads to the reproductive organs through the blood circulation. ⒉Spread through the lymphatic system. After the bacteria invade through the vagina and cervix, they spread through the lymphatic system to the pelvic cellulite, uterine appendages and even the abdominal cavity. This is often the way streptococci and staphylococci spread.