Original articleBenefits of antibiotic-impregnated inflatable penile prosthesis (InhibiZone®) in patients at high risk of infection in Taiwan

ObjectiveTo evaluate the benefits of antibiotic-impregnated inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP; InhibiZone®) in patients at high risk of infection in Taiwan.Materials and methodsFrom 2004 to 2008, 39 patients diagnosed with uncorrectable erectile dysfunction received an IPP implantation at our hospitals. Based on the underlying diseases, the patients were divided into groups. The results of the two study groups were compared with a control group, which received a conventional IPP implantation. The control group was also divided into two groups based on underlying diseases, similar to that of the study groups. Single-tailed Student t test was performed to determine the difference between each group and to compare the data of our patients with our previously published results.ResultsSurgical outcome analysis showed that the postoperative infection rate is lower in the InhibiZone group (2.6% overall, 5.6% in the high-risk group, and 8.3% in revision surgeries) compared with the conventional (control) IPP group (9.6% overall, 25% in the high-risk group, and 33.3% in revision surgeries). The postoperative infection rate is obviously higher in the high-risk group, irrespective of whether the patient received InhibiZone prostheses or the conventional ones. Furthermore, for patients prone to a high risk of prosthesis infection, InhibiZone penile prosthesis was used instead of the conventional prosthesis, and this was found to reduce the infection rate (from 25% to 5.6%); furthermore, the overall infection rate (from 9.6% to 2.6%) was found to be reduced in the group that received InhibiZone prostheses and in patients with common etiologies (from 5% to 0%), both of which were prominent and statistically significant.ConclusionAn antibiotic-impregnated IPP (InhibiZone®) definitely increases the success rate of reimplantation surgery, and can be indicated for patients at a high risk of postoperative infection.