How is "pelvic inflammatory disease" related to infertility?
Pelvic inflammatory disease is a generic term that we use for a condition in which the fallopian tubes become infected. The fallopian tubes and the uterus are in the pelvis, and so pelvic inflammatory disease means that everything basically gets inflamed and that is from an infection. This infection in almost all cases is through a sexually transmitted disease. The common causes are either Chlamydia, or gonorrhea, and what happens is the infection starts as a result of intercourse and the bacteria are deposited in the upper part of the vagina and they then climb through the cervix and up through the uterus and up into the fallopian tubes. The problem with pelvic inflammatory disease is that it can progress to a very severe type of infection and a pelvic abscess can occur. However, from our perspective, we're most worried the pelvic inflammatory disease will damage the fallopian tubes and that patient will have a difficult time getting pregnant in the future. One episode of pelvic inflammatory disease is thought to diminish fertility by about 20%, so it's not by any means an all or nothing, but clearly a significant amount of damage comes from a single episode but that depends how bad the infection is. If someone thinks they are having pelvic inflammatory disease they need to go to the doctor right away and get antibiotics in order to make sure the disease gets cured and, also in an effort to try to preserve fertility for the future.
