Prevalence of cervical gonorrhoea in women with unwanted pregnancies

Cervical specimens were collected from 1688 women attending a gynaecological clinic for induced abortion between February and December 1978. Thirteen (0.77%) women had positive culture results for Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Among those women who had a completed family or who came from outside Rotterdam or from outside the neighboring Rijnmond area, the isolation rate was very low. None of the women with positive culture results developed salpingitis after abortion; all of them had been treated prophylactically with tetracycline. No reasons appear to exist for considering women who seek abortions to be in a high-risk group for cervical gonorrhoea. Whether or not antibiotic prophylaxis should be given for the prevention of salpingitis following abortion requires further study of potentially pathogenic micro-organisms inhabiting the vagina and cervix for women applying for abortion.