Clinical aspects of pelvic inflammatory disease.

Pelvic inflammatory disease is caused by spread of organisms from the vagina and cervix to the upper genital tract. The patient may have a life-threatening illness or may remain asymptomatic. The disease may be caused by sexually or nonsexually transmitted organisms. Polymicrobial infections are the rule. Therapy requires antibiotic agents with broad coverage of aerobic and anaerobic organisms, including Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae.