Tumor necrosis factor in peritoneal fluid of women undergoing laparoscopic surgery.

The level of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in peritoneal fluid (PF-TNF) of 74 women undergoing laparoscopy was determined. The difference between the mean concentration of PF-TNF of women with normal pelvic anatomy and women with moderate or severe endometriosis was significant (P less than 0.01). The proportion of PF-TNF-positive women with PID and those with moderate or severe endometriosis was also significantly higher when compared to women with normal pelvic anatomy (P less than 0.05; P less than 0.02). The proportion of PF-TNF positive women among nulligravid and nulliparous women was significantly higher than that of women with two or more pregnancies (P less than 0.01) and two or more deliveries (P less than 0.005). These results indicate that the presence of PF-TNF is associated with primary infertility and endometriosis.