[Management of tubo-ovarian abscesses and complicated pelvic inflammatory disease: CNGOF and SPILF Pelvic Inflammatory Diseases Guidelines].

A tubo-ovarian abscess (ATO) should be suspected in a context of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) in case of severe pain associated with the presence of general signs and palpation of an adnexal mass at pelvic examination. Imaging allows most often a rapid diagnosis, by ultrasound or CT, the latter being irradiant but also allowing to consider the differential diagnoses (digestive or urinary diseases) in case of pelvic pain. MRI, non-irradiating examination, whenever it is feasible, provides relevant information, more efficient, guiding quickly the diagnosis. The diagnosis of tubo-ovarian abscess should lead to the hospitalization of the patient, the collection of bacteriological samples, the initiation of a probabilistic antibiotherapy associated with drainage of the purulent collection. In severe septic forms (generalized peritonitis, septic shock), surgery (laparoscopy or laparotomy) keeps its place. In other situations, ultrasound-guided trans-vaginal puncture in the absence of major hemostasis disorders or severe sepsis is a less morbid alternative to surgery and provides high rates of cure. Today, ultrasound-guided trans-vaginal puncture has been satisfactory evaluated in the literature and is part of a logic of therapeutic de-escalation. Randomized trials evaluating laparoscopic drainage versus radiological drainage should be able to answer, in the coming years, questions that are still outstanding (impact on chronic pelvic pain, fertility). The recommendations for the management of ATO published in 2012 by the CNGOF remain valid, legitimizing the place of radiological drainage associated with antibiotic therapy.