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Can the snapping sound discriminate true from false penile fractures? Bayesian analysis of a case series of consecutively treated penile fracture patients

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 32, pages 446–454 (2020)Cite this article

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Abstract

Some patients with clinically diagnosed penile fracture actually have a false fracture (no tunica albuginea tear found at surgery). Although previous reports indicate that these patients often do not report hearing a snapping sound (henceforth sound) at injury, there are no studies of the sound’s role in this differential diagnosis. To assess if the sound’s absence increased the likelihood of intraoperatively diagnosing a false fracture, we retrospectively analyzed 65 consecutive clinically diagnosed penile fracture patients between January 2008 and December 2017, using surgical diagnosis of penile fracture as outcome variable and sound as main predictor, including as covariates age, presentation delay, immediate detumescence after injury, and whether injury occurred during sexual intercourse. Fifty-six patients had penile fracture (86.2%), and most (40, 71.4%) reported the sound, whereas two of the nine patients with false fracture reported the sound (22.2%, p = 0.007, Fisher’s exact test). Bayesian logistic regression revealed that the sound was associated with surgical diagnosis of penile fracture (relative odds ratio = 4.25), and the probability of penile fracture fell from 92 to 74% when the sound was not reported among patients injured during intercourse experiencing immediate detumescence. This study followed PROCESS (Preferred Reporting of Case Series in Surgery) guidelines.

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Acknowledgements

Dr. Wallace Guedes Borges commented on an earlier version of this manuscript. Ms. Raquel Fernandes Carneiro assisted with the data collection. Mrs. Anna Maria Bouchardet da Fonseca Grebot revised the text for grammatical correctness.

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This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Urological Unit, Hospital de Base do Distrito Federal, SHS Quadra 101 Area Especial s/n, 7° andar (Secretaria da Unidade de Urologia), Asa Sul, Brasília, Distrito Federal, 70335-900, Brazil

    Aderivaldo Cabral Dias-Filho, Adriano Fregonesi, Carlos Alberto Toledo Martinez & Eduardo Saraiva Pimentel

  2. Urology Division, Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), R. Vital Brasil, 251—Cidade Universitária, Campinas, São Paulo, 70335-900, Brazil

    Aderivaldo Cabral Dias-Filho & Cassio Luis Zanettini Riccetto

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  1. Aderivaldo Cabral Dias-Filho
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Correspondence to Aderivaldo Cabral Dias-Filho.

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Dias-Filho, A.C., Fregonesi, A., Martinez, C.A.T. et al. Can the snapping sound discriminate true from false penile fractures? Bayesian analysis of a case series of consecutively treated penile fracture patients. Int J Impot Res 32, 446–454 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-019-0199-7

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