Staphylococcal Septicaemia Complicating Intracavernosal Autoinjection Therapy for Impotence in a Man with Diabetes

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Abstract
Intracavernosal injection of vasoactive drugs is a safe, effective, and commonly used treatment for impotence in diabetic men. In prospective studies infection has rarely occurred. We report a case of life‐threatening Staphylococcal septicaemia complicating this treatment in a 61‐year‐old man with Type 2 diabetes, probably due to a combination of an unsterile technique and drug‐induced priapism. Infection is a potential risk in diabetic men using intracavernosal injection therapy and those offered it should be informed of the importance of a scrupulous sterile technique and the need to seek urgent medical help for decompression if an erection persists for more than 4–6 h.