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Multicenter investigation on the influence of climate in penile prosthesis infection

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 32, pages 387–392 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between inflatable penile prosthesis (IPP) infection, time of year, climate, temperature and humidity. This is a retrospective IRB-approved analysis of 211 patients at 25 institutions who underwent salvage procedure or device explant between 2001 and 2016. Patient data were compiled after an extensive review of all aspects of their electronic medical records. Climate data were compiled from monthly norms based on location, as well as specific data regarding temperature, dew point, and humidity from dates of surgery. Rigorous statistical analysis was performed. We found that penile prosthesis infections occurred more commonly in June (n = 24) and less frequently during the winter months (n = 39), with the lowest number occurring in March (n = 11). One-hundred thirty-nine infections occurred at average daily temperatures greater than 55 °F, compared to 72 infections at less than 55 °F. The incidence rate ratio for this trend was 1.93, with a p-value of <0.001. Humidity results were similar, and fungal infections correlate with daily humidity. Infected implants performed in the fall and summer were over 3 and 2.3 times, respectively, more likely to grow Gram-positive bacteria compared to implants performed in spring (p = 0.004; p = 0.039). This was consistent across geographic location, including in the Southern hemisphere. We found trends between climate factors and IPP infection like those seen and proven in other surgical literature. To our knowledge these data represent the first exploration of the relationship between temperature and infection in prosthetic urology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, USA

    Martin S. Gross & Annah J. Vollstedt

  2. University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA

    Mario A. Cleves

  3. Faculdade de Medicina do ABC/Instituto H.Ellis, São Paulo, Brazil

    Sidney Glina

  4. Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Stanton C. Honig

  5. Perito Urology, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    Paul Perito

  6. Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York City, NY, USA

    Peter J. Stahl

  7. Hospital Quirón Palmaplanas Salud, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

    Mariano Rosselló Gayá

  8. Urology Specialists, Hialeah, FL, USA

    Edward Gheiler

  9. University College London Hospital, London, UK

    David J. Ralph

  10. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Tobias Köhler

  11. Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City, NY, USA

    Doron S. Stember

  12. USF Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA

    Rafael Carrion

  13. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City, NY, USA

    Pedro Maria

  14. Intermountain Healthcare, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    William O. Brant

  15. Hahnemann University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Bruce Garber

  16. Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Arthur L. Burnett

  17. Advanced Urological Care, New York City, NY, USA

    J. Francois Eid

  18. Ark-La-Tex Urology, Bossier City, LA, USA

    Gerard D. Henry

  19. Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    Ricardo Munarriz

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  1. Martin S. Gross
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  2. Annah J. Vollstedt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin S. Gross.

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MSG and RM are both consultants for Coloplast. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Gross, M.S., Vollstedt, A.J., Cleves, M.A. et al. Multicenter investigation on the influence of climate in penile prosthesis infection. Int J Impot Res 32, 387–392 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-019-0148-5

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