The minimum diagnostic criteria suggest that in sexually active young women or those at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases, if lower abdominal pain is present and other causes of lower abdominal pain are excluded, empirical antibiotic treatment can be given if the gynecological examination meets the minimum diagnostic criteria.

    Additional criteria can increase diagnostic specificity. Most PID patients have cervical mucopurulent discharge or abundant white blood cells on saline microscopy of vaginal fluid. If cervical discharge is normal and no white blood cells are seen under the microscope, the diagnosis of PID should be cautious.

    Specific criteria can basically diagnose PID, but due to the invasive nature or high cost of tests other than B-mode ultrasound, specific criteria are only applicable to selected cases. Laparoscopic diagnostic criteria for PID include: ① obvious hyperemia on the surface of the fallopian tubes; ② edema of the fallopian tube wall; ③ purulent exudate on the fimbriae or serosal surface of the fallopian tubes. Laparoscopic diagnosis of salpingitis is highly accurate and can directly take secretions from the infection site for bacterial culture, but its clinical application is limited. Not all suspected PID patients can undergo this examination, and the diagnostic accuracy for mild salpingitis is reduced. In addition, it has no diagnostic value for isolated endometritis.