Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) refers to the inflammation of the female genital tract and surrounding tissue, mainly including endometritis, salpingitis, tubal ovarian abscess and pelvic peritonitis [1] . It can be divided into acute and chronic types according to its pathogenesis process and clinical manifestation.

Acute PID has a history of acute infection; patients may experience faint pain in the lower abdomen, muscle tension, tenderness and rebound tenderness, with a fast heart rate, fever, a large quantity of purulent secretion from the vagina. When seriously ill, patients will have a high fever, headache, chills, anorexia, a lot of odiferous yellow leukorrhea, distending pain and tenderness in the lower abdomen, aching pain in the loin, etc. When experiencing peritonitis, there will be nausea, abdominal distension, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. When there is a formation of pus, patients may have a symptom of lower abdominal mass and local oppression to stimulation, and also have difficulty urinating, frequent micturition, odynuria with the mass in front. The mass located in the rear can cause diarrhea.

The chronic PID patients are susceptible to fatigue and sometimes have a low fever. Owing to the long duration, some patients may exhibit symptoms of neurasthenia, such as insomnia, lack of energy, and general malaise. Lower abdominal bulge and pain, aching pain in the loin and sacrum often take a turn for deteriorate with tiredness, after sexual intercourse and around the menstruation. Chronic inflammation may cause pelvic cavity thrombosis; menoxenia; menstrual disorders may occur if the ovary function is damaged; tubal adhesion blocking will lead to infertility.

Principles of treatment of this disease are: 1) The acute PID patients should be given active and thorough treatment, in order to prevent the inflammation becoming chronic; the latter is more stubborn, and will affect the reproductive function. 2) Pathogen treatment. Most patients of PID are mixed infections; if the bacterial culture is positive, we can choose the most effective antibiotic for treatment depending on the drug sensitive test. 3) For patients with inflammatory mass, we should consider surgery immediately if treatment with antibiotics is not effective.

PID belongs in the field of abdominal pain, leukorrhagia, abdominal mass, irregular menstruation, and sterility in traditional Chinese medicine. Kidney deficiency with disharmony of qi and blood, and stasis of damp-heat are the most common pathogenesis, eventually leading to blockage of the uterine collaterals, obstruction of the meridians, not general pain. The appropriate therapies are mainly nourishing the kidney and harmonizing qi and blood, resolving dampness and alleviating fever, activating blood to unblock collaterals.

Synopsis of the Golden Chamber, as a section of Treatise on Febrile and Miscellaneous Diseases, composed by Zhang Zhongjing in the late age of East Han Dynasty, is existing and the earliest book about discussing clinical miscellaneous diseases in China. The book records three articles about gynecological diseases, has very high guiding significance and practical value in the development of traditional Chinese Medicine in later clinical medicine, and has made a significant contribution to and had far-reaching influence on the development of clinical medicine. Therefore, focus on researching the literature which use classical prescriptions to treat PID in nearly 30 years, we use the method of evidence-based medicine, and finally obtain the most effective prescriptions and clinical classification. This study will provide theoretical basis in the treatment of PID.

Evidence-based medicine commonly refer to GRADE standard to evaluate quality of literatures, whereas Evidence-based medicine research in Traditional Chinese Medicine cannot ponderously apply the exact same items. Consequently, the following quality level identification is based on a modified GRADE standard that was discussed and recognized by several rounds of professionals, adding four items of the standard which are: addition or subtraction of prescriptions, the original does and composition of the prescription, using Shanghan Zabing Lun prescriptions only and whether researches and cases are from before the year of 1979. The rest of items are the same as in GRADE standard [2] . Detailed information is shown in Table 1.

We collect and sort out the literature published in approximately the last 30 years, which use the prescriptions in Synopsis of the Golden Chamber to treat PID, and then standardize the disease spectrum, classify the evidence, and evaluate the internal quality. Finally we refine 19 prescriptions which commonly are used in the treatment of PID, among them 10 prescriptions have been carried out in clinical studies, 18 prescriptions have been reported as case experience. The literature frequencies of each prescription are shown in Table 2 and Table 3.

As can be seen from the table, the clinical research literature mainly focused on Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan, followed by Dang Gui Shao Yao San, Da Huang Mu Dan Tang and Yi Yi Fu Zi Bai Jiang San; and case experience literature is focused on Dang Gui Shao Yao San, followed by Da Huang Mu Dan Tang and Yi Yi Fu Zi Bai Jiang San, the remaining prescriptions are used less frequently.

The clinical evidence of PID is from clinical studies and case experience literature, clinical evidence has 116 articles, case experience literature has 82 articles. In clinical research literature, there are 31 randomized controlled trials, 3 quasi-randomized controlled trials, 5 non-randomized controlled trials, 77 case series observations; there are 82 articles in case experience literature, reported 94 proven cases of PID. The quality of clinical research is not high. However, combined with the case history, it fully demonstrates the important role of the prescriptions in the treatment of PID.

In the chapter on Pregnancy Disease, Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan is the most important prescription in the treatment of blood stasis and stagnancy of cold-damp, the main symptom manifests as abnormal changes in menstruation quantity and incessant uterine bleeding. However, there is no related symptoms discourse on treatment of PID. The method of treating this disease should be dispelling stasis, the disease will recover as the stasis is cleared up. The prescription is composed of Gui Zhi, Fu Ling, Mu Dan Pi, Tao Ren, Shao Yao. Pelvic inflammation is one of the most common conditions within the disease spectrum of this prescription. High-quality evidence shows that Gui Zhi Fu Ling Wan has curative effect in clinical practice. Thus it can be seen that one of the common clinical pathogenesis of this disease is blood stasis and cold-damp stagnation, many people suffer from this condition.

In the chapter on Pregnancy Disease, Dang Gui Shao Yao San is the most important prescription in the treatment of disharmony of liver and spleen and abdominal pain caused by qi-blood stasis and damp obstruction. The main symptom is abdominal pain. The prescription is composed of Dang Gui, Shao Yao, Fu Ling, Bai Zhu, Ze Xie, Chuan Xiong. Pelvic inflammation is one of the most common conditions within the disease spectrum of this prescription. High-quality evidence shows that one of the common clinical pathogenesis of this disease is disharmony of liver and spleen, qi-blood stasis and damp obstruction, many people suffer from this condition.

In the chapter on sores, carbuncles, intestinal carbuncles and spreading effusive sores, Da Huang Mu Dan Tang is mainly used to treat acute appendicitis where pus has not yet developed. The main symptom manifests as swelling and hardening in the lower abdomen, causing aching upon pressure and patients refuse to be pressed. The prescription is composed of Da Huang, Mu Dan Pi, Tao Ren, Dong Gua Zi, Mang Xiao. Pelvic inflammation is one of the most common conditions within the disease spectrum of this prescription. High-quality evidence shows that to hot compress or oral Da Huang Mu Dan Tang has a curative effect in clinical practice. Thus it can be seen that one of clinical common pathogenesis of the disease is the gathering toxic heat and qi- blood stasis, many people suffer from this condition.

In the chapter on sores, carbuncles, intestinal carbuncles and spreading effusive sores, Yi Yi Fu Zi Bai Jiang San is mainly used to treat developed pus, where the main symptom manifests as abdominal pain and scaly dry skin. The prescription is composed of Yi Yi Ren, Fu Zi, Bai Jiang Cao. Pelvic inflammation is one of the most common conditions within the disease spectrum of this prescription. Low-quality evidence shows that flavored Yi Yi Fu Zi Bai Jiang San has a curative effect in clinical practice. Thus it can be seen that one of the common clinical pathogenesis of this disease is internal toxic heat and qi-blood injury. Although the supporting evidence is low intensity, the prescription can also be taken into consideration in clinical practice when needed.