Severe Pelvic Infection From Chlamydia trachomatis After Cesarean Section

A severe pelvic infection developed in a 17-year-old primigravida after a cesarean section. Multiple antibiotics were administered for presumed mixed aerobic and anaerobic infections, without improvement. Subsequently, total hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy were performed. Despite negative standard cultures, her condition continued to deteriorate and she required two more exploratory laparotomies for suspected intra-abdominal abscesses. Chlamydia trachomatis and, subsequently, Candida albicans were recovered from cultures of peritoneal fluid obtained after the third operation. Serological tests confirmed the presence of acute chlamydial infection. Marked clinical improvement occurred after doxycycline hyclate administration. Although genitourinary and acute pelvic inflammatory diseases due to chlamydiae have been reported previously, no case of severe pelvic infection due to this agent after cesarean section had been described, to our knowledge. Specimens should be studied specifically for chlamydiae when standard cultures demonstrate no pathogens in women suffering from documented pelvic infection. (JAMA 1982;247:1732-1734).