Abstract
From 5/98 to 5/03, of the 1310 patients taking a medical therapy for erectile dysfunction (E.D.), only 137 took autointracavernosal injection (auto. ICI). 134 patients were contacted by phone and were asked to answer a definite questionnaire.
Results
49 patients (36.5%) still perform auto-ICI therapy while 85 (63.5%) had given up. 53% of the patients still using auto-ICI make the injection 4, or more times a month, with an erection lasting a considerable time (30–60 minutes). Nobody referred the presence of corpora cavernosa fibrosis. The reasons put forward by patients who stopped the therapy were: a perception of ineffectiveness, therapy rejection, fear of injections and the appearance of intolerable side effects.
Conclusions
Auto-ICI therapy remains a valid option for patients with E.D. not responding to oral therapy but it needs greater involvement by the physician in order to evaluate the patient's psychological discomfort and reduce or eliminate intolerable side effects.
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