Unusual case report: Nonpharmacologic effects of sildenafil.
Sildenafil (Viagra), by virtue of its conflict-laden symbolic meanings, may be particularly likely to have psychosocial consequences, either therapeutic or disruptive. The author presents two cases of men in their mid-seventies who took sildenafil and who were admitted to a locked geropsychiatry unit because of homicidal ideation toward their wives that occurred while they were not under the direct effect of the drug. In one case, a wife's rejection of her husband's advances seemed to uncover many hidden resentments that they bore toward each other. In the other, sildenafil failed to restore potency to a patient with diabetes, and he developed a jealous delusion that his wife was having an affair.
Mintz
D
D
Psychiatry, Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, Massachusetts 01262, USA. david_mintz_md@yahoo.com
D000368:Aged; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D006708:Homicide / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology; D010726:Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010879:Piperazines / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011605:Psychoses, Substance-Induced / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D011687:Purines; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate; D013450:Sulfones
D010726:Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors; D010879:Piperazines; D011687:Purines; D013450:Sulfones; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate