Pelvic Inflammatory Disease and Involuntary Infertility: Prospective Pilot Observations

OBJECTIVE We prospectively evaluated the rate of adverse reproductive outcomes following pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in a small cohort of American women. METHODS We enrolled 28 patients having either salpingitis confirmed by laparoscopy or endometritis confirmed by endometrial biopsy. The follow-up was maintained by clinic visits and telephone contact. RESULTS A median of 15.4 months of follow-up was accomplished for 82.1% of these women. Fifty-two percent (13/25) had unprotected sexual activity without conception for at least 6 months. Fully 55.6% (10/18) of the cohort were involuntarily infertile after at least 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION In the first prospective cohort study of the reproductive outcomes of American women having had PID, high rates of infertility at 1 year of follow-up were experienced by these women.