How to confirm if I have a pelvic inflammatory disease?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am a 19 year old female, and I was diagnosed with a pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), five days back. Today my primary doctor called and said my test results were all negative. Does that mean the PID was false? Have I been cleared from sexually transmitted disease (STD) or sexually transmitted infection (STI)? I was prescribed Doxycycline and Metronidazole for PID.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com. PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) diagnosis is typically based on presenting signs and symptoms of the patient. There may be fever, lower abdominal pain, new or different discharge, pain during intercourse, irregular bleeding, cervical motion tenderness, or uterine tenderness. No single test has adequate sensitivity and specificity to diagnose PID. It may not be positive or negative in all patients. Therefore the diagnoses of PID might not be false. The treatment depends on the infectious agent and is generally by the use of antibiotics. In your case, the medicines prescribed were Doxycycline and Metronidazole. While taking antibiotics, your symptoms may go away, but you should finish the course as prescribed by your primary doctor.