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Query: UMLS:C0030794 (pelvic pain)
 4,056 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The rapidly growing literature on the somatic, nonpsychiatric effects of violence on women's health is reviewed, including rape, battery, and the adult consequences of child sexual abuse. The sequelae of these victimizations are summarized with consideration of acute effects (genital and nongenital injuries, sexually transmitted disease, and pregnancy), late consequences (chronic pelvic pain and other forms of chronic pain, gastrointestinal symptoms, premenstrual symptoms, and negative health behaviors), and long-term increases in the use of medical services. A recurrent theme across the literature is that the medical treatment of all types of victimized women can be improved by providing attention to the underlying cause of their symptoms. Achievement of this goal requires that physicians identify victimization history and provide access to appropriate support services. Because all forms of violence against women are prevalent among primary care populations, and victimization is clearly linked to health, health care providers cannot afford to miss this relevant history. The article concludes with suggestions for fostering and responding to disclosures of victimization.
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PMID:Somatic consequences of violence against women. 134 88

Although an estimated 67 million US women douche, little is known about who practices vaginal douching and for what purposes. These questions were addressed in a study of 618 women 18-50 years of age who sought gynecological care at 4 sites (a hospital-based academic practice, 2 private practices, and a women's center) between July 1986-June 1987. 366 (59%) of these women had douched at some time. Of these women, 85% douched less than once a month, 12% douched at least once a month but less often than once a week, and 3% douched at least once a week. Women who douched were more likely to be black, less educated, younger, and of lower socioeconomic status and less likely to use spermicides or barrier contraceptives than their counterparts who did not report this practice. A comparison of the symptoms and reproductive histories of the subgroups in this study revealed two main trends. First, symptoms indicative of vaginal infection were significantly more common among women who douched; discharge was 3 times as common and vaginal irritation and abdominal or pelvic pain were twice as frequent than in non-douchers. Second, women who douched were more likely to have characteristics reflecting a high risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs); a history of prior gonorrhea, trichomoniasis, pelvic inflammatory disease, or other STD and the existence of 2 or more sexual partners in the previous month were reported significantly more frequently than in nondouchers. All of these characteristics increased in prevalence with increases in the frequency of douching. Two thirds of women stated they douched for reasons of hygiene. Although douching does not appear to be adopted to prevent or treat infection, symptoms of infection may affect the frequency of this practice.
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PMID:Vaginal douching. Who and why? 195 17

There are few studies from family practice offices summarizing experience with culture-proven gonorrhea. Seventy-nine such cases were identified over a six-year period in a family practice model office in Gainesville, Florida, a rate of 5.8 cases per 10,000 patient visits. Ninety-six percent of the patients in the study had limited financial resources by insurance classification. The most commonly recognized presentations in men were complaints of discharge or dysuria or both. Nine (15%) of the women gave a history of contact with a person said to have a sexually transmitted disease, but none of the men did. Of the 62 women, gonorrhea was found on routine cervical culture in only two (3%), 38 (61%) had pelvic pain, and 40 (65%) had discharge as an initial complaint. Fifty-one of the patients (88%) reported symptomatic improvement with treatment, and seven (12%) reported no improvement by the treatment. Post-treatment gonorrhea cultures were positive in two (3%), negative in thirty-three (42%), not done in seventeen (22%), and twenty-seven of the patients (34%) did not return for scheduled follow-up. Difficulties in treating patients with gonorrhea in this population appeared to be largely related to problems with patient follow-up.
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PMID:Gonorrhea care in a clinic for low-income patients. 205 12

Researchers enrolled 600 prostitutes from an AIDS control and prevention program in a study to determine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis in prostitutes and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The prostitutes worked in the port city of Santos, Brazil where many people use intravenous (IV) drugs. Only 45 prostitutes met the study criterion of 5-100 sexual partners/day. Health practitioners took sera from each woman to test for HIV-1, HIV-2, hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody (HBsAb), Treponema species (syphilis), and C. trachomatis. All the women tested positive for C. trachomatis. This high percentage may have been due to previous contact with the microbe and not necessarily due to an active infection. 42% had been exposed to Treponema. 20% were HBsAb seropositive and 9% HBsAg seropositive. 9% tested positive for HIV-1 and 2% for HIV-2. In another study in Campinas, Brazil, HIV-1 and seropositivity was 21.5% for prostitutes and transvestites. In addition, in a study in metropolitan Sao Paulo, HIV infection prevalence varied from 18-73% among 935 women and 22% among prostitutes. 58% of the prostitutes in Santos had had sexual intercourse with bisexuals or IV drug users. 44% had previously experienced an STD. 42% used IV drugs. 42% practiced both oral and vaginal sex. 36% practiced oral, vaginal, and anal sex. Only 22% limited themselves to oral sex. Since C. trachomatis can cause infertility, chronic pelvic pain, and spontaneous abortion and since every prostitute in the study had been exposed to it, health workers should institute regular STD screening for prostitutes.
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PMID:Seropositivity to Chlamydia trachomatis in prostitutes: relationship to other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). 210 Oct 95

Chlamydia trachomatis infection is the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease in developed countries today. It produces a number of oculogenital syndromes in adults as well as conjunctivitis and pneumonitis in infants. However, the most important sequelae are infertility, ectopic pregnancy, and chronic pelvic pain in women. Available diagnostic tests including culture are less than 100% sensitive but may be of considerable value in detecting asymptomatically infected individuals. Antichlamydial therapy is usually effective and should be given empirically to individuals whose presentation places them at high risk for infection.
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PMID:Chlamydial infections. 328 82

Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) is the most common serious complication of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Each year over one million women in the United States experience an episode of PID, with approximately 16-20% of cases occurring in teenagers. Acute PID increases a woman's risk for recurrent PID, chronic pelvic pain, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. Recent reports indicating that PID rates are rising and are highest among adolescent females aged 15-19 underscore the need to remain current on the clinical as well as the epidemiologic aspects of PID. We present such an update in this article. Trends in incidence and key risk factors are discussed; besides adolescence itself and STD, other important categories of risk factors include sexual activity, contraceptive method, and previous episode(s) of PID. The polymicrobial nature of PID is discussed along with an analysis of the role of specific organisms, such as Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, anaerobic and aerobic bacteria, and mycoplasmas in PID. Early diagnosis and the institution of appropriate treatment regimens are essential to the prevention of PID's devastating sequelae. Clinicians must maintain a high index of suspicion for the wide range of clinical presentations associated with PID and be prepared to provide effective management, including proper evaluation and prompt treatment of sexual partners.
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PMID:Pelvic inflammatory disease and its sequelae in adolescents. 389

The increased prevalence of venereal disease among adolescents has resulted in a rise in nonacute salpingitis. Laparoscopy was evaluated as an aid in the diagnosis and treatment of presumed nonacute salpingitis in 29 adolescents. The patients had a mean duration of symptoms of 5.5 months, 50% had a recent history of discharge and/or bilateral pelvic pain, and on examination 50% had pain on motion of the cervix, 75% had adnexal tenderness, and 50% had a palpable adnexal fullness or mass. Anatomic findings at laparoscopy included normal pelvic structures in 8, active salpingitis in 13 and nonacute disease in 8. The anaerobic, aerobic, and viral peritoneal cultures obtained at laparascopy from 22 patients resulted in no growth in 18. The four with positive cultures had one organism identified in three cases and two organisms in one case. Anatomic findings were more helpful in diagnosis than the bacteriologic analysis, and our results suggest that laparoscopy increases diagnostic accuracy in the management of presumed nonacute salpingitis.
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PMID:Laparoscopy for presumed nonacute salpingitis: a new look at an old problem. 645 21

Chlamydia are a frequent etiologic agent in the chronic salpingitis that has become more and more of a problem in recent years, with its accompanying pelvic pain, ectopic pregnancies, and tubal sterility. Although public health officials, obstetricians and gynecologists, and sexually transmitted disease specialists all agree that prevention would be preferrable to treatment of the resulting tubal lesions and possible neonatal complications, the change of habits necessary for prevention will be difficult to achieve. Infection can be avoided by discouraging early initiation of sexual activity in adolescents, who are apparently particularly susceptible to chlamydial infection, and by discouraging multiple sexual partners since the risk increases appreciably for those having over 3 partners. Condoms and local spermicides with a benzalkonium chloride base offer protection but are poorly accepted by adolescents. IUDs should not be used by adolescents because of the risk of infection. Diagnosis of chlamydia is difficult because about 60% of cases in women are asymptomatic. Persons at high risk because of their patterns of sexual activity should be examined regularly for chlamydia, and tests should be scrupulously performed at all stages and sent to a competent laboratory. All sexual contacts of the chlamydia patient and all their sexual contacts should be treated. An early diagnosis of tubal involvement is difficult but should be pursued through laparoscopy and taking the necessary samples. The public should be educated about the existence, gravity, consequences, and contagiousness of sexually transmitted diseases in such institutions as schools and the military service. Treatment of chlamydia includes early and intensive antibiotic therapy, complete rest, and prolonged use of corticotherapy. An oral contraceptive can be prescribed to prevent development of functional ovarian cysts. Laparoscopic control is essential to ensure that the cure was effective. Return of the infection is associated with a very poor prognosis.
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PMID:[Prevention of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in women]. 652 58

In the mid-1980s in Brazil, health workers randomly assigned 1711 women aged 15-48 requesting IUD insertion at the Center for Research on Integrated Maternal and Child Care clinic in Rio de Janeiro to have the Copper-T 200 IUD inserted by a physician or by a nurse. The study aimed to determine whether trained nurses could perform as safe and effective IUD insertions as physicians. Insertion failure was more common when performed by nurses than physicians (3.3% vs. 1.3%; p = 0.005). Severe pain at insertion was more common during physician insertions than nurse insertions (10.8% vs. 7.1%; p = 0.008) and in women who had menstrual bleeding, bleeding, dysmenorrhea, or pelvic pain than in women lacking these preinsertion symptoms (14.2% vs. 7.8%; p 0.001). History of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) or a sexually transmitted disease (STD) increased the likelihood of severe pain at insertion (14.5% vs. 8.5%; p = 0.022). Nulliparous women were more likely to experience insertion failure than parous women regardless of provider, especially for nurse insertions (11.6% vs. 1.6%; p 0.01). The higher failure rate among nurses was probably due to a higher proportion of nulliparous women in the nurse insertion group (17.2% vs. 13.6%; p 0.05). The overall IUD use-effectiveness rate at 12 months was 98.8% (98.6% for physicians and 99% for nurses). The cumulative IUD continuation rate at 12 months was slightly better for nurse insertions than for physician insertions (75.2% vs. 74.4%). There were no significant differences between termination rates regardless of reason (pregnancy, expulsion, or removal) between physicians and nurses. The increases in complaint rates between preinsertion and postinsertion were the same for both physicians and nurses (25.8% and 25.1%, respectively). These results indicate the need to emphasize taking the client's medical history and diagnosing existing medical symptoms that are possibly linked to IUD insertion complications. Physicians or more experienced nurses should insert an IUD in nulliparous women. More counseling and care are needed for women with IUD insertion complications and those with a history of PID or STD.
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PMID:Comparative study of safety and efficacy of IUD insertions by physicians and nursing personnel in Brazil. 852 Jun 6

Induced abortion is one of the most frequent surgical procedures in the UK. Even though it is considered safe, it sometimes has complications and long-term sequelae. Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is the most prevalent complication and can lead to chronic pelvic pain, pain during intercourse, infertility, and a higher risk of ectopic pregnancy. Chlamydia trachomatis is perhaps the leading etiologic agent for PID among women who have undergone induced abortion and who develop PID. Gonorrhea is another major etiologic agent for PID. Strategies used to try to reduce pelvic infection revolve around administration of antibiotic prophylaxis based on demographic features and on the presence of certain organisms in the genital tract that may increase their risk (e.g., C. trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae) and universal antibiotic prophylaxis for all women undergoing abortion. Most of the literature suggests that antibiotic prophylaxis does provide some protection against PID but does not clearly indicate who should be screened and for which pathogens and who should be treated and with which antibiotics. Demographic features useful for identifying who should receive antibiotic prophylaxis are: a history of PID, single status, nulliparity, and youth (especially reliable for chlamydial infection). Screening for bacterial vaginosis involves diagnosis based on 3 of 4 criteria: characteristic vaginal discharge, positive amine test, raised vaginal pH, and the presence of clue cells on microscopy of wet or stained preparations of vaginal discharge. Since C. trachomatis is the most important pathogen, drugs sensitive to it should be administered: tetracyclines and erythromycin. Screening women seeking abortion for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) provides an opportunity to educate them about STDs and treatment compliance and to contact their partners for investigation, treatment, and contact-tracing to reduce the STD-infected pool in the community.
Int J STD AIDS
PMID:Preventing pelvic infection after abortion. 854 9


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