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Pelvic Inflammatory Disease pp 60–75Cite as

Diagnosis of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease

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Abstract

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is difficult to diagnose. Symptoms and signs associated with PID are common for different diseases and vary from case to case. Without invasive procedures, the organs of interest are invisible and indirectly palpable. The result is that we sometimes misdiagnose PID in healthy women (overdiagnosis). Sometimes we think women with acute PID are healthy (underdiagnosis), and sometimes we diagnose PID in women who have other diseases (misdiagnosis). Overdiagnosis may lead to inappropriate hospital care, antibiotic treatment, and surgery. Underdiagnosis may lead to delayed antibiotic treatment with increased risk for complications, including tubo-ovarian abscess, infertility, and later, ectopic pregnancy. Misdiagnosis may result in delay of appropriate treatment of other diseases, including appendicitis and ectopic pregnancy.

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Authors
  1. Pål Wølner-Hanssen
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Reproductive Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Women’s Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213-3180, USA

    Daniel V. Landers M.D. (Associate Professor and Director) (Associate Professor and Director)

  2. Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Magee-Women’s Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213-3180, USA

    Richard L. Sweet M.D. (Professor and Chairman) (Professor and Chairman)

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© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Wølner-Hanssen, P. (1997). Diagnosis of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. In: Landers, D.V., Sweet, R.L. (eds) Pelvic Inflammatory Disease. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0671-2_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0671-2_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4612-6863-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4612-0671-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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