What is postprocedural pelvic infection?
In these guidelines, the term postprocedural pelvic infection refers to infection that:
- follows a transvaginal gynaecological procedure where sexually transmissible pathogens have been reliably excluded
- involves the female1 upper genital tract (including the uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries and, occasionally, adjacent pelvic structures).
Postprocedural pelvic infection is polymicrobial and is usually caused by vaginal flora.
If a sexually transmissible infection (STI) cannot be reliably excluded (eg the patient was not screened for STIs before the transvaginal procedure or the STI could have been acquired after screening), see Treatment of pelvic inflammatory disease.