Pelvic inflammatory disease in the adolescent
Spence, M.R.; Adler, J.; McLellan, R.
Journal of Adolescent Health Care Official Publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine 11(4): 304-309
1990
ISSN/ISBN: 0197-0070 PMID: 2114383 DOI: 10.1016/0197-0070(90)90040-9Document Number: 371315
We studied 171 women, 106 young adults, and 65 adolescents, with a clinical diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) to determine whether differences existed in the presentation in these two groups. The study population was an age-stratified, random sample obtained from 1162 women with this condition. Demographic characteristics, sexual history, physical findings, severity of illness, and laboratory findings were compared between the two groups. The most significant findings were that the adolescents sought health care later in the course of the illness (7.8 vs. 5.6 days; p less than 0.02) and were more commonly infected with the gonococcus (42% vs. 28%; p less than 0.05). No statistically significant differences were found in the other parameters evaluated. Implications of these findings regarding the health care for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the education of adolescents are discussed.