King K. Holmes

Pathogenesis of acute pelvic inflammatory disease: role of contraception and other risk factors.

In a case-control study of matched pairs, the risk of acute pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) was 4.4 times higher in intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD) users than in nonusers (p less than 0.001). Of approximately 500,000 cases of acute PID occurring annually in the United States, an estimated 110,000 are attributable to IUDs, costing over forty-four million dollars per year. PID was attributable to the IUD in 77 per cent of IUD users. No particular type of IUD was implicated. The relative risk of acute PID in IUD users over nonusers was higher in nulligravid women than in previously pregnant women and was directly related to socioeconomic status (SES), but the total annual risk of PID in IUD users appear inversely related to SES. IUD use significantly increased the risk of nongonococcal PID. Fever occurred in 13 (21 per cent) of 61 IUD users and 59 (41 per cent) of 143 nonusers (p less than 0.025). Among women with nongonococcal PID, and adnexal mass greater than or equal to 6 cm. was noted in 14 (40 per cent) of 35 IUD users and in only 12 (15 per cent) of 78 nonusers (p less than 0.01). An increased risk of gonococcal PID was found among non-Caucasians and women not using contraception, while the risk of nongonococcal PID was increased among women with a past history of gonorrhea. Oral contraceptive use may protect women with gonorrhea from developing PID. Menstruation precipitates the onset of symptoms of gonococcal PID.

A Case–Control Study of Chorioamnionic Infection and Histologic Chorioamnionitis in Prematurity

To study the role of infection in prematurity, we studied the demographic and obstetrical characteristics, chorioamnionic cultures, and placental histologic features of women who delivered prematurely and compared these findings with those in women who delivered at term. Microorganisms were isolated from the area between the chorion and the amnion (chorioamnion) in 23 of 38 placentas (61 percent) from women with preterm labor who delivered before 37 weeks gestation and in 12 (21 percent) of 56 placentas from women without preterm labor who delivered at term (odds ratio, 5.6; 95 percent confidence interval, 2.1 to 15.6). The most frequent isolates from the placentas of those whose infants were delivered prematurely were Ureaplasma urealyticum (47 percent) and Gardnerella vaginalis (26 percent). The recovery of any organism from the chorioamnion was strongly associated with histologic chorioamnionitis (odds ratio, 7.2; 95 percent confidence interval, 2.7 to 19.5) and with bacterial vaginosis (odds ratio, 3.2; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.1 to 6.6). When multiple logistic regression was used to control for demographic and obstetrical variables, premature delivery was still related to the recovery of organisms from the chorioamnion (odds ratio, 3.8; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.5 to 9.9) and with chorioamnionitis (odds ratio, 5.0; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.6 to 15.3). The proportion of placentas with evidence of infection was highest among those who delivered at the lowest gestational age. We conclude that infection of the chorioamnion is strongly related to histologic chorioamnionitis and may be a cause of premature birth.