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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffAntibiotics are the standard treatment for pelvic inflammatory disease. Your doctor may prescribe a combination of antibiotics before receiving the results of your laboratory tests. The antibiotics may be adjusted once your results are known. Your doctor may also prescribe a medication to relieve your pain and recommend bed rest.
To prevent reinfection with an STI, advise your sexual partner to be examined and treated. Avoid sexual intercourse until treatment is completed and tests indicate that the infection has cleared in all partners.
More-serious cases
Outpatient treatment is adequate for treating most women with pelvic inflammatory disease. However, if you're seriously ill, pregnant or HIV-positive, or have not responded to oral medications, you may need hospitalization. At the hospital, you may receive intravenous (IV) antibiotics, followed by oral antibiotics.
Surgery is rarely necessary. However, if an abscess ruptures or threatens to rupture, your doctor may drain it. In addition, surgery may be performed on women who don't respond to treatment or who have a questionable diagnosis, such as when one or more of the signs or symptoms of PID are absent. In these cases, doctors often try antibiotic treatment before surgery, because of the risks of surgery.
- Pelvic inflammatory disease fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/std/PID/STDFact-PID.htm. Accessed April 21, 2011.
- Hemsell DL. Gynecologic infections. In: Schorge JO, et al. Williams Gynecology. New York, N.Y.: The McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3150553. Accessed April 21, 2011.
- Pelvic inflammatory disease. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp077.cfm. Accessed April 21, 2011.
- Pelvic inflammatory disease: Frequently asked questions. The National Women's Health Information Center. http://womenshealth.gov/faq/pelvic-inflammatory-disease.cfm. Accessed April 21, 2011.
- Trigg BG, et al. Sexually transmitted infections and pelvic inflammatory disease in women. Medical Clinics of North America. 2008;92:1083.
- Livengood CH, et al. Clinical features and diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 21, 2011.
- Livengood CH. Pathogenesis of and risk factors for pelvic inflammatory disease. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed April 21, 2011.
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