Intracavernous sodium nitroprusside (SNP) versus papaverine/phentolamine in erectile dysfunction: a comparative study of short-term efficacy and side-effects.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of our work is to evaluate the efficacy of intracavernous sodium nitroprusside (SNP) in management of erectile dysfunction (ED) in a clinical comparative study with papaverine/phentolamine in ED patients.


METHODS
The study included 40 patients with ED divided into two groups. Group I include 20 patients receiving intracavernous (30 mg papaverine + 1 mg phentolamine) followed 1 week later by intracavernous 300 microg SNP. Group II included 20 patients receiving the same regimen of group I but with intracavernous SNP first followed by papaverine/phentolamine 1 week later. All patients were assessed clinically for their response and any developing complications.


RESULTS
The numbers of good and poor responders were not statistically significant (P > 0.05) among the two groups. The mean erectile duration of SNP was similar to bimix (P > 0.05). No side-effects whether local or systemic occurred with SNP while priapism and local penile pain were recorded with bimix solution.


CONCLUSIONS
Intracavernous pharmacotherapy is still a reliable method both for diagnosis and for treatment of ED. While preliminary results of our study show a potential of SNP to be an effective and safe intracavernous agent, long-term self-injection clinical trials are needed before large-scale usage is recommended.
Shamloul
Rany
R
Department of Andrology Sexology and STDs, Cairo University, Egypt. rannone74@hotmail.com
Atteya
Ahmed
A
Elnashaar
Abdelrahman
A
Gadallah
Amr
A
Zohdy
Wael
W
Abdelsalam
Wael
W
D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000328:Adult; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D007172:Erectile Dysfunction / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections; D008297:Male; D009599:Nitroprusside / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010146:Pain / Q000139:chemically induced; D010208:Papaverine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010646:Phentolamine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011317:Priapism / Q000139:chemically induced; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000317:Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D009599:Nitroprusside; D010208:Papaverine; D010646:Phentolamine