Clinical Newswire May 26 2002 − Researchers at the University of Maryland have found a simple way for urologists to improve sexual response in men who initially fail therapy with sildenafil (Viagra) therapy - make sure they take it correctly.
These results were presented by Dr. Geoffrey N. Sklar, University of Maryland Medical Center, MD, at the 100th American Urological Association Annual Scientific Meeting in Orlando, Florida on May 26, 2002.
Viagra is an effective oral first line therapy for erectile dysfunction (ED), but many patients fail first line therapy with Viagra that is usually prescribed by their primary care physician. It is possible that many of these failures are not due to inefficacy of the drug, but rather to incorrect usage.
This study was designed by urologists, who often receive referrals of patients who have failed Viagra therapy, to test whether re-education of patients could convert these patients from failures to responders.
The study followed 253 men who had been referred to a urologist after they had failed Viagra therapy. On their first visit to the urologist the patients received an average of 12 minutes of re-education on the safety and correct use of the drug using a brief instructional videotape on erectile dysfunction and instruction sheets both for the patient and their partner.
40% of the initial sildenafil "failures" were converted to "responders", and 90% of these continued to remain responders to the end of follow-up (mean 20 months).
According to Dr. Sklar, the leading reason for failure in these eventual responders was a lack of sexual stimulation, followed by them not titrating up from 50mg to the most effective dose. In addition, some men took the Viagra after a heavy meal, which may interfere with the absorption of the medication. He estimated that "80% of initial failures may be related to the method of taking the drug."
"Our findings give hope to men who tried sildenafil, but concluded it wouldn't work for them," said Dr. Sklar.
|
