Infection Retardant Coated Inflatable Penile Prostheses Decrease the Incidence of Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

PurposeThis systematic review was done to compare the effectiveness of infection retardant coated inflatable penile prostheses vs noncoated devices.Materials and MethodsWe systematically reviewed PubMed® and Galileo® to identify all relevant case studies. The postoperative infection incidence rate was compared for coated and noncoated inflatable penile prostheses to determine whether coating the implant affects the rate of surgical implant infection.ResultsIncluded in analysis were 14 clinical case studies in a total of 9,910 patients with a first time implant, including 5,214 inflatable penile prostheses without an infection retardant coating and 4,696 coated inflatable penile prostheses impregnated with minocycline/rifampin (3,158), rifampin/gentamycin immersion (181), vancomycin/gentamycin immersion (181) and a hydrophilic coating only (1,176). For noncoated vs coated prostheses the infection rate was 2.32% vs 0.89% (p <0.01), including 0.63%, 0.55%, 4.42% and 1.11% for minocycline/rifampin, rifampin/gentamycin immersion, vancomycin/gentamycin immersion and hydrophilic coatings, respectively.ConclusionsThis analysis documents a significant advantage of using coated compared to noncoated inflatable penile prostheses to prevent postoperative device infection. Infection retardant coatings that allow antibiotics to elute off the device components decrease the incidence of device infection by approximately 50%. Future studies must address novel techniques, such as preventing bacterial adhesion, to further decrease infectious etiologies.