Sk. Wilson et al., QUANTIFYING RISK OF PENILE PROSTHESIS INFECTION WITH ELEVATED GLYCOSYLATED HEMOGLOBIN, The Journal of urology, 159(5), 1998, pp. 1537-1539
Purpose: Elevation of glycosylated hemoglobin above levels of 11.5 mg.
% has been considered a contraindication to penile prosthesis implanta
tion in diabetic patients. We determine the predictive value of glycos
ylated hemoglobin A1C in penile prosthesis infections in diabetic and
nondiabetic patients to confirm or deny this prevalent opinion. Materi
als and Methods: We conducted a 2-year prospective study of 389 patien
ts, including 114 diabetics, who underwent 3-piece penile prosthesis i
mplantation. All patients had similar preoperative preparation without
regard to diabetic status, control or glycosylated hemoglobin A1C lev
el. Risk of infection was statistically analyzed for diabetics versus
nondiabetics, glycosylated hemoglobin A1C values above and below 11.5
mg.%, insulin dependent versus oral medication diabetics, and fasting
blood sugars above and below 180 mg.%. Results: Prosthesis infections
developed in 10 diabetics (8.7%) and 11 nondiabetics (4.0%). No increa
sed infection rate was observed in diabetics with high fasting sugars
or diabetics on insulin. There was no statistically significant increa
sed infection risk with increased levels of glycosylated hemoglobin A1
C among all patients or among only the diabetics. In fact, there was n
o meaningful difference in the median or mean level of glycosylated he
moglobin A1C in the infected and noninfected patients regardless of di
abetes. Conclusions: Use of glycosylated hemoglobin A1C values to iden
tify and exclude surgical candidates with increased risk of infections
is not proved by this study. Elevation of fasting sugar or insulin de
pendence also does not increase risk of infection in diabetics undergo
ing prosthesis implantation.