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Pelvic inflammatory disease in the postmenopausal woman
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston 29425, USA. jacksosu@musc.edu
Objective:
Review available literature on pelvic inflammatory disease in postmenopausal women.
Design:
MEDLINE literature review from 1966 to 1999.
Results:
Pelvic inflammatory disease is uncommon in postmenopausal women. It is polymicrobial, often is concurrent with tuboovarian abscess formation, and is often associated with other diagnoses.
Conclusion:
Postmenopausal women with pelvic inflammatory disease are best treated with inpatient parenteral antimicrobials and appropriate imaging studies. Failure to respond to antibiotics should yield a low threshold for surgery, and consideration of alternative diagnoses should be entertained.