Management of chronic pelvic inflammatory disease with shortwave diathermy. A case report

Abstract

Patients with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) are not routinely referred for physical therapy until the condition is found to be resistant to antibiotic therapy. A 39-year-old black woman with an eight-year history of PID was treated with shortwave diathermy (SWD) using a modified 'cross-fire' technique. A thermal dosage treatment lasting between 20 and 30 minutes (for each half of the cross-fire technique treatment) was administered. At the beginning of every treatment session, the patient rated her pain perception on a 10-point ratio scale. The patient received a total of nine treatments, after which she was completely pain free. The results of this case study suggest that SWD may be effective in the management of pelvic infections that are unresponsive to chemotherapy. Further studies using larger sample sizes and a control group, however, are needed before conclusive statements can be made on the relative efficacy of SWD in the management of chronic PID.