INTRODUCTION—Traditionally penile implant (PI) infections have been managed by removal
with immediate or delayed replacement. Recently, interest has been focused on conservative
therapy (CT) using antibiotic therapy.
AIM—To investigate the success rate and predictive factors affecting the outcome of CT in PI
infection patients.
METHODS—Patients diagnosed with early, localized PI infection were considered candidates for
CT. Exclusion criteria included temperature >37.5 Celsius, WBC >13,000/μL and appearance of
any sign of sepsis. In patients with purulent drainage, culture swabs were taken and an antibiotic was chosen based on sensitivity results. Oral antibiotics were used until the local infection was
completely resolved. Patients were evaluated weekly during this process.
RESULTS—37 patients were retrospectively reviewed and constituted the study population.
Mean age was 58.1 (range37–85; standard deviation 9.9) years. All were diabetic. Mean BMI was
31.8 (range 24–47; SD 5.0). PI was malleable in 33 and inflatable in 4 cases. Culture results
(n=19) included: Staph epidermidis (42 %), Pseudomonas (21%), E coli (21%) and Staph aureus
(16%). Four of thirty seven patients needed the PI removed due to CT failure and onset of
systemic symptoms, at a mean time-point of 75±1.8 days after CT commencement. In men who
were cured, mean time to complete healing was 49 (range 29–97; SD 15.8) days. Two of thirty
seven patients (5%) had PI removal because of persistent penile pain despite complete wound
healing, at a mean time point of 128±2.5 days after CT commencement. All men managed
conservatively resumed sexual intercourse.
CONCLUSIONS—CT of localized PI infection appears to be a viable option for such patients
with the majority of patients retaining their implant and resuming sexual activity.
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