Trends in hospital discharge rates for pelvic inflammatory disease in Scotland, 1975-1985

This paper describes trends in hospitalisation for pelvic inflammatory disease in Scotland between 1975 and 1985. The age-standardised hospital discharge rate per 100,000 for all pelvic inflammatory disease in women aged 15-44 rose from 100.1 in 1975 to 143.8 in 1985. Rates of acute pelvic inflammatory disease increased by 58%, from 66.3/100,000 in 1975 to 104.5/100,000 in 1985, but the rate of discharge for chronic disease rose only slightly from 33.8/100,000 to 39.3/100,000. About one quarter of acute cases underwent surgery which enabled confirmation of the diagnosis, and there was no major change in this proportion between 1975 and 1985. The use of laparoscopy steadily increased, but this tended to replace other forms of surgery which could confirm the diagnosis. The percentage of chronic cases which were surgically confirmed increased steadily over the time period studied. A marked decrease in the mean duration of stay--from 9.2 days in 1975 to 4.9 days in 1985--meant that the total number of bed days used by patients with pelvic inflammatory disease fell by 16% between 1975 and 1985 despite the increase in the total number of cases.