title: Erectile dysfunction in men with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a randomized study of the efficacy of sildenafil and continuous positive airway pressure.
abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of sildenafil and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in men with erectile dysfunction (ED) and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). In all, 30 men were randomly treated for 12 weeks either with sildenafil 100 mg before intercourse (15 men) or CPAP during night time sleep (15 men). Under sildenafil, 97/180 (53.9%) of attempted intercourses were successful compared to 33/138 (23.9%) under CPAP. The mean IIEF (erectile function domain score) was 12.9 and 9.3 after sildenafil and CPAP treatment, respectively (P=0.007), compared to 7.9 and 7 at baseline. In all, 53.3% of patients were satisfied with sildenafil and 20% with CPAP for ED treatment (P=0.058). Although sildenafil was superior to CPAP, comorbidities and OSAS per se possibly resulted in a lower effectiveness of sildenafil compared to that in the general population of ED men. While about half of the patients were not satisfied even with the more effective treatment, we conclude that a combination of the two therapeutic tools or a different therapeutic mode should be studied further.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Medical School, University of Patras, Rio, Greece. perimenis@internet.gr
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perimenis
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karkoulias
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Markou
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gyftopoulos
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Athanasopoulos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Barbalias
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kiriazopoulou
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Spiropoulos
mesh_terms: D003075:Coitus; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010879:Piperazines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011687:Purines; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy; D013450:Sulfones; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D010879:Piperazines; D011687:Purines; D013450:Sulfones; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D000068677:Sildenafil Citrate