Efekti tronedeljnog tretmana erektalne disfunkcije ekstrakorporalnim udarnim talasima niskog inteziteta

Abstract

Although phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE 5) inhibitors represent the gold standard for medical treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED), they are not curative. Over recent years, low-intensity extracorporealshock wave therapy (LI-ESWT) has been proposed as a valid non-invasive therapy approach for erectile dysfunction. The aim of our work is to assess the shortened, threeweek low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave treatment of vasculogenic erectile dysfunction. The study involved a total of 32 patients with an International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) score between 5 and 20, and whose vasculogenic ED had been proven through Doppler ultrasound. All patients had a washout period of 1 month after previous therapy and agreed to discontinue the PDE5-I tgerapy during the follow-ap. The patients were evaluated at baseline, after 1, 3 and 6 months, with the IIEF, Doppler ultrasound and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). All investigated parameters ( International Index of Erectile Function, Beck Depression Inventory and penile Doppler ultrasound parameters) showed statistically significant improvement just one month after the treatment, compared to pre-treatment values, in all investigated domains. The international index of erectile function passed from baseline values of 12.75 ± 4.62 to 14.87 ± 5.04 at one month after treatment (p<0.01). This trend remained positive in IIEF and all the parameters tested at the 3-month and 6-month follow-up. The shortened three-week low-intensity shock wave treatment of vasculogenic erectile dysfunction proved to be clinically effective.