OBJECTIVE: To define the predictors discriminating between patients developing tuboovarian abscess (TOA) and those with non-TOA acute pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) on the day of admission to the hospital. STUDY DESIGN: One hundred sixty-three patients were evaluated and divided into 2 groups: 42 patients diagnosed with clinical and sonographic evidence of TOA and 121 diagnosed with PID. Relying upon the significant differences between the 2 groups, cutoff levels yielding the best degree of discrimination were determined. RESULTS: A palpable adnexal mass in a woman older than 42 years and erythrocyte sedimentation rate > 50 mm/h were the best predictors of TOA. There was no difference in the mean temperature or number of sick days prior to hospitalization. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that there are parameters that can be used as predictors of TOA and prolonged hospital stay. These parameters can advance the beginning of more aggressive antibiotic treatment.
OBJECTIVE: To define the predictors discriminating between patients developing tuboovarian abscess (TOA) and those with non-TOA acute pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) on the day of admission to the hospital. STUDY DESIGN: One hundred sixty-three patients were evaluated and divided into 2 groups: 42 patients diagnosed with clinical and sonographic evidence of TOA and 121 diagnosed with PID. Relying upon the significant differences between the 2 groups, cutoff levels yielding the best degree of discrimination were determined. RESULTS: A palpable adnexal mass in a woman older than 42 years and erythrocyte sedimentation rate > 50 mm/h were the best predictors of TOA. There was no difference in the mean temperature or number of sick days prior to hospitalization. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that there are parameters that can be used as predictors of TOA and prolonged hospital stay. These parameters can advance the beginning of more aggressive antibiotic treatment.