Introduction: The objective of this study was to explore the role of intracavernous injection (ICI) and audiovisual sexual stimulation (AVSS) during real-time pharmacopenile Doppler ultrasonography (PDDU) in vasculogenic subtypes of erectile dysfunction. Materials and Methods: A total of 200 consecutive men with erectile dysfunction (ED) were enrolled. Each patient received 2 sessions of real-time PDDU. Session A was performed under ICI alone. Session B was performed under ICI plus AVSS. The interval between sessions was 7 days. Penile vascular parameters, including peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV) and resistive index, were monitored 5, 10 and 20 min after the start of the test. Patients were asked to describe the level of sexual arousal generated by choosing one of the pre-set answers. Results: In veno-occlusive ED, during session A, EDV at 10 min was significantly greater than at 5 and 20 min (p < 0.05). During session B, there was a significant difference regarding PSV in arteriogenic ED (p < 0.05). Mixed vasculogenic ED showed significant differences in PSV levels during session B, and EDV at 5 min was greater than at 10 and 20 min (p < 0.05). PDDU under ICI alone diagnosed 34 (17%), 35 (17.5%), 31 (15.5%) and 100 (50%) cases of arteriogenic, veno-occlusive, mixed vasculogenic and nonvasculogenic ED, respectively. The combination of ICI plus AVSS diagnosed 27 (13.5%), 44 (22%), 7 (3.5%) and 122 (60.7%) cases, respectively. Conclusions: Adding AVSS during PDDU improves the recording of physiologic erectile response and may help the physician to accurately evaluate the cause of ED.

Keywords:
Vasculogenic erectile dysfunction, Doppler ultrasonography, Audiovisual sexual stimulation, Intracavernous injection, Diagnostic method
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© 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel
2013
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