• Z Harel and S Riggs.
• Division of Adolescent Medicine, Hasbro Children's Hospital, Providence, RI 02903, USA.
• J Adolesc Health. 1997 Aug 1; 21 (2): 87-90.

PurposeThe purposes of this study were to explore the association of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) with cervical biopsy and to examine whether screening for Chlamydia and gonorrhea infections within 2 weeks prior to colposcopy is a standard clinical practice among adolescents' care providers in the United States.MethodsAn anonymous questionnaire was distributed to U.S. physicians and nurses who are members of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, and/or the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology.ResultsA total of 368, from all the states in America, responded. Only 5% of the respondents have encountered biopsy-associated PID owing to Chlamydia and/or gonorrhea. The incidence rate of biopsy-associated PID reported by the respondents to this survey was approximately 1:1000 colposcopic biopsies. Fifteen percent of the respondents screen their adolescent patients, and 23% favor screening for Chlamydia and gonorrhea infections within 2 weeks prior to colposcopy. Previous experience with colposcopy and previous encounters with biopsy-associated PID in adolescents did not significantly affect the practice or the opinion of the respondents.ConclusionsScreening for Chlamydia and gonorrhea infections within 2 weeks prior to colposcopy in adolescents is presently not a common clinical practice among U.S. adolescents' care providers. Because of the potential risk of biopsy-associated PID, it is advisable to minimize the interval between Chlamydia and gonorrhea screening and colposcopy in adolescents.

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