my $rc=$sth->execute...
my $tmpl=HTML::Template->new...
if ($rc==1) {
  my ($count)=$sth->fetchrow_array; # I only use this when fetching a single value
                                    # otherwise I use fetchrow_hashref
  $tmpl->param(replycount=>$count);
}
... # lots more code, presumably
print $tmpl->output;