Peritoneal fluid leukotriene B4 and prostaglandin E2 in acute salpingitis

Concentrations of leukotriene B4 (LTB4) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in peritoneal fluid were measured in 19 women with suspected acute pelvic inflammatory disease. Acute salpingitis was verified by laparoscopy in 16 cases; 11 of them had isolation of microbes from the peritoneal cavity. Means (+/- SD) levels of peritoneal fluid LTB4 and PGE2 in acute salpingitis were 506 +/- 288 and 378 +/- 330 pg/ml, respectively, and higher (p less than 0.001) than the levels in the peritoneal fluid of 20 healthy controls: LTB4 44 +/- 57, PGE2 11 +/- 2 pg/ml, respectively. An inflammatory cytologic pattern was found in the peritoneal fluid in all the cases with acute salpingitis, neutrophils being the prominent cells. These chemical mediators of inflammation in peritoneal fluid may have a role in the development of scarring and peritubal adhesions found after acute salpingitis.