Influence of 0.2mg Tamsulosin Treatment on the Erectile and Ejaculatory Functions in Patients with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of 8 weeks of 0.2mg tamsulosin medication on the erectile and ejaculatory functions of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Materials and Methods: 108 patients with BPH and they were without prostate cancer and neurogenic bladder were included in this study. Initial evaluations included a thorough history, digital rectal exam, urinalysis, serum prostate-specific antigen, uroflowmetry (UFM), post void residual urine measurement, transrectal ultrasound, International Prostatic Symptom Score (IPSS) and an International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) and ejaculatory function questionnaire. After 4 and 8 weeks of medication, we analyzed the differences of these parameters at each week. Results: The mean age of the patients was 61.3±9.0 years old and their prostate volume was 35.7±21.3ml. The IIEF erectile function (EF) domain score showed no statistically significant difference after medication. However, the orgasmic function domain score showed a significant decrease from 16.3±9.3 to 15.7±9.6 at the 4th and 8th week. Regarding the ejaculatory function, when the patients were divided into two groups according to the EF domain score (<10, ≥11), the score of the ejaculatory volume showed a tendency to decrease from 2.5±1.0 to 2.2±1.2 (p=0.07), and the score for satisfaction about ejaculation was decreased from 3.0±1.2 to 2.5±1.5 (p=0.01) in the larger EF domain group after 8 weeks of treatment. The IPSS score and UFM parameters improved significantly after medication (p<0.05). Conclusions: For the patients with BPH, 8 weeks of 0.2mg tamsulosin medication caused significant improvement in their voiding function. In addition, our findings suggest that 0.2mg tamsulosin medication may the influence erectile and ejaculatory function. (Korean J Urol 2007;48:12511257) 󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏󰠏