A woman with a tubo-ovarian abscess may have underlying risk factors. While most common in young or middle-aged adult women, a tubo-ovarian abscess can occur at any age.
The most common cause is pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) due to Neisseria gonorrhoeae and/or Chlamydia trachomatis. This most often occurs in young sexually active adults.
Other predisposing factors:
(1) ovarian carcinoma or carcinoma of the fallopian tube
(2) sepsis (bloodborne)
(3) genitourinary infection
(4) intrauterine device (IUD)
(5) recent pelvic procedure
Certain organisms may spread to the ovary:
(1) M. tuberculosis
(2) Brucella species
(3) Actinomycosis (most often associated with an IUD)
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