How well is pelvic inflammatory disease managed in general practice? A postal questionnaire survey

Many patients with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) present to their general practitioners. Chlamydia trachomatis is the organism most commonly implicated in this condition. This study aims to examine how well PID is managed in the primary care setting and highlight areas for improvement.

The study was performed by sending postal questionnaires to 180 randomly selected general practitioners in Birmingham. Given the example of a woman presenting clinically with PID, the doctors were asked questions on diagnosis and treatment. To assess factors that may influence the answers, they were also asked about their sex, year of qualification, and postgraduate training.

139 questionnaires (77%) were returned. 91.4% of the respondents feel confident in managing patients with PID, and only 9.3% would usually refer these patients on. However, 54.7% do not perform an endocervical swab for C trachomatis, 37.4% do not include anti-chlamydial antibiotics in their treatment regimen, and 24.5% do not advise sexual partners to be screened. Female doctors, those with higher degrees, or obstetrics and gynaecology experience were more likely to give anti-chlamydial therapy, but no factors of the respondents significantly influenced contact tracing behaviour.

The management of a patient presenting with PID should include investigation for C trachomatis and treatment with an appropriate antibiotic. As PID is often a sexually transmitted disease, contact tracing of sexual partners should be undertaken. The study suggests that a significant proportion of general practitioners would not have offered optimal management to patients with PID.