A New Marker for the Diagnosis of Acute Pelvic Inflammatory Disease: Immature Granulocyte.

BACKGROUND: The goal is to assess the role of immature granulocytes (IG) in the diagnosis of acute pelvic-inflammatory-disease (PID) and to determine whether they are useful for discriminating mild/moderate and severe PID. METHODS: Patients admitted with the diagnosis of acute PID were retrospectively assessed. Diagnosis was based on CDC criteria. Patients were grouped as severe and mild/moderate PID based on need for hospitalization. Control group consisted of patients in whom PID was excluded by laparoscopy. Sample size was calculated with statistical methods. IGs were compared within the groups. Cutoff values were determined for prediction of diagnosis and severity of acute PID. RESULTS: There were 74 severe, 32 mild/moderate acute PID, and 41 control patients. Thirty patients had surgery following no response to antibiotic treatment or tubo-ovarian abscess. IGs were significantly higher in the severe group compared to mild/moderate and control groups. ROC analysis showed IG counts (≥ 0.035 µL) and percentages (≥ 0.35%) were significantly effective in predicting acute PID and were associated with severity when they were ≥ 0.055 µL and ≥ 0.42%, respectively. IG count ≥ 0.085 was found to have 58.6% sensitivity and 63.1% speci-ficity for prediction of surgical intervention need. CONCLUSIONS: IGs are components of simple CBC tests and are easily obtainable, cheap markers. They were found to be elevated in acute PID and correlated significantly with the severity of the disease. These markers may serve as adjunctive markers for the diagnosis of acute PID and may be useful in discrimination between mild/moderate and severe PID.

Genital tract infection and pelvic surgery contribute to the development of endometriosis.

Endometriosis is a multifactorial disease, and inflammation is considered a core pathology. Inflammation related to genital tract infection (GTI) and surgical injury may cause endometriosis. Therefore, we investigated the incidence of endometriosis in women with a recent history of GTI, pelvic surgery, or both. Using the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort, 20- to 49-year-old women diagnosed with GTI or who underwent pelvic surgeries between 2002 and 2008 were collected and followed up for five years. After excluding women who had already been diagnosed with endometriosis or diseases that may affect endometriosis, a total of 30,336 women were diagnosed with GTI (Study 1), 2894 women who underwent pelvic surgery (Study 2), and 788 women who underwent GTI and pelvic surgery, both (Study 3) were enrolled for each study. The comparison groups in which sociodemographic factors matched for each group were collected. The incidence of endometriosis per 1000 person-year was 5.37, 5.17, and 20.81 in each case group and was significantly higher than each comparison group. A recent history of GTI increased an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 2.29 (1.99-2.63, 95% confidence interval) for the development of endometriosis. The aHRs of pelvic surgery history and the history of both GTI and pelvic surgery were 2.10 and 7.82, respectively. In conclusion, the pelvic inflammation resulting from genital infection and pelvic surgical injury may play a role in developing endometriosis. Active treatment of genital infections and careful surgical procedures to minimize tissue injury may reduce the incidence of pelvic endometriosis.

Xanthogranulomatous Salpingitis Presenting as Pyosalpinx in a Non-Sexually Active Adolescent Girl.

INTRODUCTION: Although pelvic inflammatory disease is seen in sexually active women, it can also be seen in virgin girls. One of the conditions that can develop if not treated appropriately is pyosalpinx. A case of pyosalpinx causing xanthogranulomatous inflammation, a rare type of inflammation, is presented. CASE: A 15-year-old virgin adolescent patient underwent salpingectomy for left pyosalpinx, and the pathology result revealed xanthogranulomatous salpingitis. CONCLUSION: Pelvic inflammatory disease is extremely rare in virgin adolescents and there is usually an underlying anatomic anomaly. No anatomical anomaly was detected in our case, but the detection of E.coli in the abscess fluid culture and the chronic constipation of our patient made us think that the cause of the disease was an ascending infection originating from the gastrointestinal tract.

Endometriosis is a risk factor for recurrent pelvic inflammatory disease after tubo-ovarian abscess surgery.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical outcomes and prognosis of patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery for tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA) and identify risk factors for pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) recurrence. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis including 98 women who underwent laparoscopic surgery for TOA at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Bern University Hospital from January 2011 to May 2021. The primary outcome studied was the recurrence of PID after TOA surgery. Clinical, laboratory, imaging, and surgical outcomes were examined as possible risk factors for PID recurrence. RESULTS: Out of the 98 patients included in the study, 21 (21.4%) presented at least one PID recurrence after surgery. In the univariate regression analysis, the presence of endometriosis, ovarian endometrioma, and the isolation of E. coli in the microbiology cultures correlated with PID recurrence. However, only endometriosis was identified as an independent risk factor in the multivariate analysis (OR (95% CI): 9.62 (1.931, 47.924), p < 0.01). With regard to the time of recurrence after surgery, two distinct recurrence clusters were observed. All patients with early recurrence (≤ 45 days after TOA surgery) were cured after 1 or 2 additional interventions, whereas 40% of the patients with late recurrence (> 45 days after TOA surgery) required 3 or more additional interventions until cured. CONCLUSION: Endometriosis is a significant risk factor for PID recurrence after TOA surgery. Optimized therapeutic strategies such as closer postsurgical follow-up as well as longer antibiotic and hormonal therapy should be assessed in further studies in this specific patient population.

Brain abscess as a rare complication of pelvic inflammatory disease.

OBJECTIVE: Description of the case history of a brain abscess as a rare complication of pelvic inflammatory disease. CASE REPORT: We discuss a woman of reproductive age who had inserted a non-hormonal intrauterine device for seven years and developed pelvic inflammatory disease with no response to antibio-tic therapy. After surgery, some neurological symptoms led to a dia-gnosis of a brain abscess. CONCLUSION: Brain abscess is a rare but potentially lethal complication from pelvic inflammatory disease, needing prompt dia-gnosis and interdisciplinary cooperation.

Association between pelvic inflammatory disease and subsequent salpingectomy on the risk for ovarian cancer.

AIM: Salpingectomy is associated with a lower risk for ovarian cancer, suggesting that the fallopian tubes constitute the origin of the disease. It is unclear whether the observed effect is mediated by pelvic inflammatory disease (PID); a major indication for salpingectomy and implicated in the aetiology of ovarian cancer. METHODS: In this population-based cohort study, we used nationwide registry-based data on women exposed for PID with and without subsequent salpingectomy (n = 97,912) compared with the unexposed population (n = 5,429,174) between 1973 and 2010. The effect of hormone treatment was considered in a subanalysis. RESULTS: Of the exposed women, 9538 women underwent salpingectomy during the study period. There was a significant association between PID and ovarian cancer (hazard ratio [HR] 1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.31-1.59), whereas an inverse association was observed for exposed women with subsequent salpingectomy (HR 0.55, 95% CI 0.36-0.83). Salpingectomy performed on other indications (n = 24,895) was associated with a lower incidence of ovarian cancer (HR 0.72, 95% CI 0.56-0.93). No effect modification was observed for the use of oral contraceptives or hormonal replacement therapy. CONCLUSION: Salpingectomy is associated with a lower incidence of ovarian cancer regardless of indication.

Perioperative Complications of Laparoscopic versus Open Surgery for Pelvic Inflammatory Disease.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare complications in patients undergoing laparoscopic vs open surgery for acute pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). DESIGN: We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent surgery for PID, using the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2010 to 2015. Propensity score matching was used to balance baseline characteristics and compare complications in patients who underwent laparoscopic vs open surgery. SETTING: Surgical management of acute PID. PATIENTS: Patients with a preoperative diagnosis of PID were identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes. We excluded patients with chronic PID, gynecologic malignancy, and those for whom the surgical route was unknown. INTERVENTIONS: Surgery for acute PID. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The study included 367 patients. The mean age was 43.0 ± 11.1 years, body mass index was 30.9 ± 11.2 kg/m2, and American Society of Anesthesiology class was 2 (interquartile range 2-3). Preoperative signs of sepsis were noted in 33.8% of the patients, and septic shock was present in 1.4%. Hysterectomy was performed in 67.6%, oophorectomy in 12.0%, and salpingectomy in 4.6%. Complications were experienced by 114 patients (31.1%), 11 (3.0%) of which were potentially life-threatening. Multivariate logistic regression identified the following to be independently associated with complications: laparoscopy (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 0.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.3-0.8; p <.01), operative time (aOR 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.01; p <.01), appendectomy (aOR 2.36; 95% CI, 1.0-5.4; p = .04), elevated international normalized ratio (aOR 2.30; 95% CI, 1.3-4.2; p <.01), and low hematocrit level (aOR 2.53; 95% CI, 1.4-4.5; p <.01). Propensity scores were calculated and used to generate a matched cohort of patients who underwent laparoscopic vs open surgery; the groups were similar, with p <.05 for all covariates. After balancing confounding variables, a laparoscopic approach to surgery remained significantly associated with a lower risk of complications (coefficient -0.07; 95% CI, -0.11 to -0.02; p = .008). CONCLUSION: Laparoscopy was associated with lower complication rates than open surgery in this well-matched cohort of patients who underwent surgery for acute PID.

Inflammation calls for more: Severe pelvic inflammatory disease with or without endometriosis. Outcomes on 311 laparoscopically treated women.

OBJECTIVE: To study possible associations between endometriosis and pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). DESIGN: Retrospective cohort analysis over 14 consecutive years, based on medical records and insurance coding in a tertiary care endometriosis reference center. SETTING: Tertiary care reference center for endometriosis. PATIENTS: Retrospective analysis on all women submitted to laparoscopy in our Unit MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intra-operative data about complications and fertility-impairing procedures, intra-, peri- and post-operative complications. INTERVENTIONS: Retrospective disease codes-triggered chart analysis. RESULTS: The study population was divided into two groups: Group 1 included women with PID and no endometriosis (n = 115); Group 2 included women with PID and endometriosis (n = 96). Endometriosis had a prevalence of 63 % in patients submitted to surgery for PID, significantly higher than the one reported in general population and than the one reported in a Tertiary Care Endometriosis Unit. A significantly higher number of salpingectiomes was needed in group 2 patients (208 versus 80, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: This study seems to confirm an higher prevalence of pelvic inflammatory disease in endometriosis patients. Intra-operative findings of PID with associated endometriosis show more aggressive patterns.

Fever, abdominal pain, and adnexal mass.

A CT scan pointed to a surgical emergency. But what surgeons found was not the small bowel obstruction they were expecting.

Can the Need for Invasive Intervention in Tubo-ovarian Abscess Be Predicted? The Implication of C-reactive Protein Measurements.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical parameters of hospitalized patients with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) for the presence of tubo-ovarian abscess (TOA) and predict the need for intervention. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. SETTING: A tertiary care university medical center. PATIENTS: Ninety-four patients were diagnosed with complicated PID and hospitalized between 2015 and 2017. INTERVENTIONS: Patients with PID were treated with parenteral antibiotics according to Centers for Disease Control guidelines. Demographic, clinical, sonographic, and laboratory data for patients with PID were analyzed. Inflammatory markers including C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cells (WBCs), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and clinical parameters were collected at admission and during hospitalization. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Forty-eight of 94 patients (51.1%) hospitalized with complicated PID were diagnosed with TOA sonographically. CRP levels were the strongest predictor of TOA, followed by WBC count, ESR, and fever on admission. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for CRP, WBC, ESR, and fever were .92, .75, .73 and .62, respectively. CRP specificity was 93.4% and sensitivity was 85.4% for predicting TOA, with cutoff value of 49.3 mg/L. Twelve patients (25%) failed conservative management and underwent surgical intervention including laparoscopy (n = 7), computed tomography (CT)-guided drainage (n = 4), and laparotomy (n = 1). In this group, CRP levels significantly increased from admission to day 1 and day 2 during hospitalization (128.26, 173.75, and 214.66 mg/L, respectively; p < .05 for both). In the conservative management group, CRP levels showed a plateau from admission to day 1 and then a decrease until day 3 (110, 120.49, 97.52, and 78.45 mg/L, respectively). CONCLUSION: CRP is a sensitive, specific inflammatory marker for predicting TOA in patients with complicated PID, and levels >49.3 mg/L suggest the presence of TOA. In the TOA group, CRP level trends correlated well with success or failure of conservative management. Increasing CRP levels during treatment may be used as an indicator of the need for invasive intervention, and daily CRP measurements can help predict the need for invasive intervention.

A different time for tubal surgery.

"An object in motion tends to remain in motion along a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force." -Isaac Newton.

Laparoscopic Compared With Open Surgery for Severe Pelvic Inflammatory Disease and Tubo-Ovarian Abscess.

OBJECTIVE: To compare operative outcomes of laparoscopic surgery compared with laparotomy in patients with moderate to severe pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). METHODS: Using the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database, a national inpatient database for acute-care inpatients in Japan, we performed a large, nationwide retrospective cohort study. We identified all patients aged 18 years or older who were diagnosed with PID with or without tubo-ovarian abscess and were admitted to a participating hospital from July 2010 to March 2016. We excluded patients who were pregnant, had cancer, or for whom data were missing. We compared outcomes between patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery compared with laparotomy. Propensity score-matched analyses were performed to compare operative outcomes including postoperative length of stay, surgical complications, in-hospital deaths, and revision surgery. RESULTS: Of 27,841 patients with PID, 4,419 (15.9%) underwent surgical intervention. From among 749 women undergoing laparoscopy and 3,670 women undergoing laparotomy for PID, 740 pairs were created for propensity score matching. The laparoscopic group had shorter operation duration (125 vs 166 min), fewer blood transfusions (4.7% vs 10.0%), and shorter length of hospital stay (median 5 days vs 7 days; all P<.001) compared with the laparotomy group. There were no significant differences between groups for in-hospital deaths, surgical complications, and revision surgery. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic surgery may have clinical advantages over laparotomy in patients diagnosed with severe PID.

What is the functional result of a delayed coloanal anastomosis in redo rectal surgery?

BACKGROUND: Delayed coloanal anastomosis (DCAA) may be used in patients with complex rectal conditions, such as chronic pelvic sepsis, low recto-vaginal and recto-vesical fistula; however, limited data are available. The aim is to report the morbidity and functional results of DCAA in redo rectal surgery. METHODS: All patients undergoing DCAA between January 2014 and August 2017 were retrospectively included. Success was defined as a functional anastomosis without stoma, evaluated using the Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (LARS) score and the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) functional assessment tools. RESULTS: Of the 72 redo pelvic surgeries, 29 (40.3%) DCAA were performed over a 4-year period. Indications for redo resection were chronic pelvic sepsis (n = 13, 44.8%), recto-vaginal fistula (n = 11, 37.9%) and recto-vesical fistula (n = 5, 17.2%). Mean interval period between the two procedures was 14 ± 3 days (8-21). Global major morbidity (Clavien-Dindo III or IV) was seen in six patients (20.7%). Stoma closure was feasible for 22 (75.9%) patients after a median period of 78 days (interquartile range 61-98). The 6-month success rate was 79.3%. Mean LARS was 28.8 ± 10.2 (3-41) (minor LARS) for 18 patients with no stoma at the end of follow-up. LARS score was significantly better with a follow-up >2 years (23.3 ± 12.2 versus 32.3 ± 7.9), P = 0.074. Mean GIQLI score was 79.2 ± 14.3 (48-98). CONCLUSIONS: Transanal colonic pull through with delayed anastomosis for redo-surgery in complex pelvic situations had low morbidity and avoided a permanent stoma in three out of four patients with an acceptable quality of life.

Therapeutic Impact of Initial Treatment for Chlamydia trachomatis Among Patients With Pelvic Inflammatory Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study Using a National Inpatient Database in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is common among women of reproductive age and can be complicated by tuboovarian abscess (TOA), which is a serious and potentially life-threatening disease. However, recent mortality rates from PID on hospital admission and the short-term therapeutic usefulness of initial treatment for Chlamydia trachomatis remain unknown. METHODS: Using the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database, we identified patients who were diagnosed with PID on admission from July 2010 to March 2016 in Japan. We excluded patients who were pregnant, had cancer, or had missing data. Propensity score-adjusted analyses were performed to compare short-term outcomes between patients administered initial treatment for C. trachomatis and those without this treatment. The primary outcome was surgical intervention (laparotomy, laparoscopic surgery, and/or drainage procedure) during hospitalization. RESULTS: In total, 27841 eligible patients were identified. Of these patients, 2463 (8.8%) had TOA on admission. Mortality during hospitalization was 0.56% and 0.28% in the groups without and with TOA, respectively. Propensity score matching created 6149 pairs. A significant difference was observed in the primary outcome between those receiving initial treatment for C. trachomatis and the control group after propensity score matching (11.5% vs 13.4%; risk difference, -1.9%; 95% confidence interval, -3.1 to -0.7). The group that received initial treatment for C. trachomatis also had a significantly lower mortality rate. CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective nationwide study, initial treatment for C. trachomatis among hospitalized patients diagnosed with PID had clinical benefits in terms of improved short-term outcomes.

Rare cause of ovarian mass.

Pelvic actinomycosis is a rare entity that occurs almost exclusively in women, the presentation of which is usually non-specific and variable. Pelvic actinomycosis is almost always associated with the use of an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD). Pelvic actinomycosis unrelated to IUD use is almost always associated with previous surgical procedures. The symptoms, clinical signs and radiological findings are usually non-specific, mimicking an ovarian malignancy. So an awareness of this rare condition and a proper diagnosis can avoid unnecessary surgeries because these cases can be treated with a prolonged course of antibiotics. We present a case of pelvic actinomycosis which masqueraded as an ovarian malignancy.

[Síndrome de Fitz-Hugh-Curtis en un paciente varón anciano. Caso y revisión de la literatura]. / Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome in elderly male patient. Case and literature review.

El síndrome de Fitz-Hugh-Curtis (FHCS) es la inflamación de la cápsula hepática sin afectación del parénquima asociada a una enfermedad pélvica inflamatoria. Hay muy pocos casos descritos en varones. El síntoma característico es el dolor abdominal en el cuadrante superior derecho, que hace que se confunda el cuadro con una enfermedad de la vía biliar. Son características las adherencias fuertes entre el diafragma y el hígado en forma de «cuerda de violín¼. Presentamos el caso de un varón de 81 años que se somete a una colecistectomía laparoscópica por pancreatitis de repetición. Durante la cirugía se encuentran las características adherencias en «cuerda de violín¼, que se seccionan. El paciente da positivo para anticuerpos contra Chlamydia trachomatis. Hay nueve casos descritos en la literatura de FHCS en varones. Este síndrome se confunde muchas veces con patología infecciosa biliar, lo que nos obliga a someter al paciente a una cirugía para realizar el diagnóstico cuando se encuentran las características adherencias. Si sospechamos la enfermedad mediante las pruebas complementarias, podemos intentar tratarla con antibióticos.Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome (FHCS) is the inflammation of the hepatic capsule without affecting the parenchyma, which is associated with a pelvic inflammatory disease. There have been very few cases in men. The main symptom is abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant, which can be confused with a bile duct disorder. Strong violin string-like adhesions between the diaphragm and the liver are characteristic. In the study concerned, it is reported the case of an 81 year-old man who undergoes a laparoscopic cholecystectomy for recurrent pancreatitis. During surgery, the typical violin string-like adhesions are found and sectioned. The patient tests positive for Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies. Only nine cases in men have been reported in FHCS literature. This syndrome is frequently confused with infectious biliary tract disease, so the patient should undergo a surgery to diagnose when the characteristic adhesions are found. If the disease is suspected by the additional tests, it can be treated with antibiotics.

Predictive factors for emergent surgical intervention in patients with ovarian endometrioma hospitalized for pelvic inflammatory disease: A retrospective observational study.

AIM: The aim of this study was to identify predictive factors for emergent surgical interventions in patients with ovarian endometriomas hospitalized for pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). METHODS: We retrospectively identified 22 patients with ovarian endometriomas who were hospitalized to manage PID. Patients were divided into two groups: those who required emergent surgery after failed antibiotic therapy (emergent surgery group, n = 6) and those who were discharged with successful antibiotic therapy (conservative group, n = 16). Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the factors associated with emergent surgery. RESULTS: Patients in the emergent surgery group were significantly more likely to have intrauterine or intrapelvic procedures before the onset of PID compared to those in the conservative group (83% vs 38%, odds ratio 8.33, 95% confidence interval 1.02-181.3; P = 0.048). The mean interval between the onset of PID symptoms and the commencement of parenteral antibiotic therapy was significantly longer in the emergent surgery compared to the conservative group (6.5 vs 1 day, odds ratio 1.28, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.75; P = 0.041). CONCLUSION: A history of an intrauterine or intrapelvic procedure before the onset of PID was more likely to result in emergent surgery. A longer interval between the onset of PID symptoms and the commencement of parenteral antibiotics was also associated with emergent surgery. These findings could help to identify patients with ovarian endometriomas hospitalized with PID at higher risk of emergent surgical intervention.

[Tubo-ovarian abscess in the 39th week of pregnancy (case report)]. / Tuboovariální absces ve 39. týdnu gravidity (kazuistika).

OBJECTIVE: A case of tubo-ovarian abscess in a patient with term pregnancy. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Nemocnice s poliklinikou Karviná Ráj. CASE REPORT: I hereby report a case of a patient in her 39th week of pregnancy hospitalized for abdominal pain and vomiting. Due to unclear aetiology and growing dynamics of inflammatory markers the ending of the pregnancy by induction of labour was indicated. Postpartum examination performed through computed tomography determines the cause of current problems. Conservative therapy of the diagnosed adnexal abscess, however, is insufficient. In the fourth postpartum day, the patient is indicated for surgical intervention and unilateral salpingo oophorectomy is performed. CONCLUSION: Even though rare during this period, some forms of clinical pelvic inflammatory disorders during pregnancy have to be taken into consideration. Timely and correct diagnosis combined with adequate therapy is of vital importance for reduction of perinatal and maternal mortality and morbidity.

Enterobius vermicularis in tubo-ovarian abscess: A rare and interesting incidental finding - A case Report.

Enterobius vermicularis is a common intestinal nematode; however, rare extraintestinal Enterobius infections have been reported from different parts of the world. Here, we present a case of tubo-ovarian abscess in an otherwise healthy young sexually active female with no known comorbids with history of on and off lower abdominal pain for one year and high grade fever for one month. On the basis of further workup and radiological evaluation, a preoperative diagnosis of right sided tubo-ovarian abscess was made and salpingo-oophorectomy was performed laproscopically in July 2015. Histopathology of the resected tissue revealed necrosis and in one area Enterobius vermicularis was identified surrounded by neutrophils and eosinophil rich abscess. A final diagnosis of severe acute and chronic salpingo-oophoritis with abscess formation, secondary to Enterobius vermicularis was made. Signs and symptoms of parasitic involvement in tubo-ovarian abscesses are not much different than usual presentations of pelvic inflammatory diseases and identification of a parasite in a tubo-ovarian tissue sample is a rare clinical finding. A high index of suspicion on the part of histopathologist as well as clinician is important for timely diagnosis and effective management of such cases.

Actinomyces-Related Tubo-Ovarian Abscess in a Poorly Controlled Type II Diabetic With a Copper Intrauterine Device.

BACKGROUND: The historic association of Actinomyces israelii infection with intrauterine devices (IUDs) has long been recognized. In recent years, the risk of developing pelvic inflammatory disease with a copper or levonorgestrel IUD has been less than 1% in women who are low risk for sexually transmitted infections. IUD-related pelvic infections secondary to actinomyces have largely vanished from contemporary practice. CASE: A 49-year-old using a copper IUD for contraception with poorly controlled type II diabetes mellitus was admitted for suspected tubo-ovarian abscess on the basis of abdominopelvic pain, leukocytosis, and computed tomography findings. After she was treated with intravenous and outpatient antibiotics with clinical improvement, repeat imaging 1 month later revealed a persistent complex left adnexal mass. Tumor markers were negative but given the persistence and complex nature of the mass, surgical management was recommended. A robotic-assisted hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy was performed. Adhesiolysis, profuse irrigation, and ureteral stenting were required. Pathology revealed bilateral tubo-ovarian abscesses with actinomyces species identified on intraoperative culture. The patient had a total of 10 days of postoperative antibiotics and improved glucose control with no further signs of infection. CONCLUSION: Although actinomyces-related IUD PID is considered an outdated diagnosis, there are intermittent case reports of bizarre presentations in older women, often mimicking malignancy. Actinomyces should be a consideration in tubo-ovarian abscesses or pelvic inflammatory disease in patients with an IUD in place, particularly those who have poor glucose control or are otherwise immunosuppressed. Early identification and treatment of actinomyces tubo-ovarian abscesses may reduce surgical morbidity and overall improve patient outcomes and safety.