Case Based PID Surveillance in San Francisco

Few reliable data exist on the population-level burden of PID and the utility of passive case based surveillance of this important infertility-related outcome. We conducted a descriptive analysis of all case reports of PID in San Francisco from 2004 to 2008 through our passive case reporting surveillance system.  There were 190 case reports over the five-year period examined.  There were no statistically significant differences over this period based on demographics.  However, an increasing proportion of cases were diagnosed at the municipal sexually transmitted disease clinic. As the locus of PID care shifted from inpatient to outpatient, passive PID surveillance has not adjusted. Efforts should be made to increase provider awareness that pelvic inflammatory disease is a notifiable condition and improve reporting among providers by devoting resources to either improving current passive surveillance or to the development of new innovative ways to conduct PID surveillance.