[Severe pelvic inflammatory disease. Response to ertapenem]

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an important health problem. Delay in diagnosis and effective treatment contributes to inflammatory sequelae with risk of future fertility problems and chronic pelvic pain. Treatment regimens must provide empiric, broad-spectrum coverage of likely pathogens but also take into account patient's risk profile. In this article we report the case of a young woman affected by a rare genital malformation who required the creation of a neovagina made of abdominal skin. Years later, the patient presented with symptoms that support the diagnosis of PID. There was no clinical analytical response to classical parenteral antimicrobial regimen, even after surgical intervention for tubal abscess. Peptostreptococci isolated in abdominal cavity culture showed an infrequent clindamycin resistance, so we started monotherapy treatment with ertapenem, with excellent results. In conclusion, more clinical trials are needed to discover the pathogens usually involved in PID in our setting and their antibiotic resistance to re-evaluate standard antimicrobial regimens and perhaps recommend new agents, such as ertapenem.