Pelvic inflammatory disease is a inflammation of reproductive organs including uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. PID cause some symptoms in women once the disease develops, and it may cause the occurrence of some complications.

If a woman has PID, she may have any of these symptoms:
Abdominal pain (especially lower abdominal pain) or tenderness
Back pain
Abnormal uterine bleeding
Unusual or heavy vaginal discharge
Painful urination
Painful sexual intercourse

Symptoms not related to the female reproductive organs include fever, nausea, and vomiting.
PID symptoms may be worse at the end of a menstrual period and during the first several days following a period.

PID can cause scarring inside the reproductive organs, which can later cause serious complications, including chronic pelvic pain, infertility, ectopic pregnancy (the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths in adult females), and other dangerous complications of pregnancy. Occasionally, the infection can spread to in the peritoneum causing inflammation and the formation of scar tissue on the external surface of the liver (Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome). Multiple infections and infections that are treated later are more likely to result in complications.

Fertility may be restored in women affected by PID. Traditionally tuboplastic surgery was the main approach to correct tubal obstruction or adhesion formation, however success rates tended to be very limited. In vitro fertilization (IVF) has been used to bypass tubal problems and has become the main treatment for patients who want to become pregnant.