PURPOSE - To evaluate the effect of postoperatively administering a low daily dose of tadalafil on the erectile function of patients who underwent a nerve-sparing radical prostatectomy(NSRP) due to localized prostate cancer (PCa).
MATERIALS AND METHODS - Of 138 patients, who underwent NSRP due to PCa between 2012 and 2014, 55 patients who had not had pre-operative erectile dysfunction (ED) were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 64 (54-72). On the 15th day after surgery, after ultrasound evaluation, all 55 patients started on a daily dose of 5 mg tadalafil that was continued for 2.5 months. The erectile function of patients was evaluated pre-operatively, post-operatively, and at the 3rd and 6th month after surgery using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) test. None of the patients was treated with hormonal therapy or radiotherapy before or after surgery.
RESULTS - Three patients were excluded from the study due to the adverse effects of tadalafil and two patients elected to discontinue the treatment. Of the remaining 50 patients whose pre-operative erectile function had been found normal, at 3 months after surgery, 36 (72%) had normal erectile function; of the remaining patients in the study six (12%) presented with mild, two (4%) with moderate, and six (12%) with severe ED. Six months after surgery, 35 patients (70%) had normal erectile function while seven (14%) had mild, three (6%) moderate and five (10%) severe ED. There was no statistically significant difference between the results obtained at the 3rd and 6thmonth follow-up (p > 0.05). Three patients reported adverse effects with tadalafil including flushes in 2 (3.6%) and a headache in 1 (1.8%).
CONCLUSIONS - The administration of a 5 mg post-operative dose of tadalafil to patients that had undergone a bilateral NSRP was found to have a positive effect on the recovery and maintenance of erectile function. However, there is still a need to investigate a larger series of cases.
Archivio italiano di urologia, andrologia : organo ufficiale [di] Società italiana di ecografia urologica e nefrologica / Associazione ricerche in urologia. 2016 Mar 31*** epublish ***
Erkan Hirik, Aliseydi Bozkurt, Mehmet Karabakan, Özkan Onuk, Mustafa Bahadır Can Balcı, Memduh Aydın, Murat Çakan, Barıs Nuhoglu
Erzincan University Mengücek Gazi Education and Research Hospital, Urology Clinic.