ORAL-CONTRACEPTIVES DO NOT ALTER THE COURSE OF EXPERIMENTALLY-INDUCEDCHLAMYDIAL SALPINGITIS IN MONKEYS

Background and Objectives: The effects of oral contraceptive use on ch lamydial infections and ensuing PID are not well understood. In this s tudy, the effects of oral contraceptives on the clinical course of acu te chlamydial salpingitis were investigated. Study Design: Monkeys (n = 4) in which salpingeal autotransplants had been established were giv en oral contraceptive pills consisting of a combination of estrogen an d progesterone (Norlestrin 1/50, Parke-Davis, Ann Arbor, MI). After on e complete cycle of hormone treatment, monkeys were inoculated with C. trachomatis serovar E in the subcutaneous salpingeal pockets while un der continuous hormone treatment. Inoculated pockets were biopsied ser ially for isolation of organisms and histopathological evaluation. Two monkeys not given oral contraceptives were studied in parallel. Resul ts: The duration of infection as evidenced by recovery of organisms wa s not appreciably different between the treated and untreated monkeys. Chlamydia could be recovered from pocket tissues through day 10 post- infection in control and treated animals, and on day 14 post-infection in one of two control animals. Thereafter all isolation became negati ve. The inflammatory infiltrate consisted primarily of mononuclear cel ls (50-100 cells per 40X field). Conclusions: Our results indicate tha t administration of oral contraceptives did not affect the duration of shedding of organisms nor the histopathology of acute chlamydial infe ction of the reproductive tract.