J Korean Acad Rehabil Med.
2002 Jun;26(3):306-310.
Effect of Oral Sildenafil Citrate (Viagra(R)) in Erectile Dysfunction Following Spinal Cord Injury
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Korea.
- 2Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Daejon-Hanil, Korea.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effect of oral sildenafil citrate (Viagra(R)) on erectile dysfunction following spinal cord injury.
METHOD: Seventy nine male patients with erectile dysfunction after spinal cord injury, who were free from contrain
dications, received 50 mg of sildenafil. Visual-analogue erection scale (VAES) was used to evaluate the rigidity of
penis before and after the medication. In addition, the duration of erection and side effects of sildenafil were evaluated.
RESULTS
Mean VAES score showed a statistically significant increase after the medication from 5.6 to 7.5 (p=0.000).
The mean duration of erection also increased from 3.4 minutes to 27.1 minutes after medication (p=0.000). Sixty seven patients (84.8%) reported improved erection with 50 mg of sildenafil and sixty one patients (77.2%) reported rigid erection enough for sexual intercourse. Ten patients (12.7%) reported side effects: facial flushing (3), dizziness (2), headache (2), chest pain (2), and palpitation (1).
CONCLUSION
This study demonstrated that sildenafil is an effective medication in treating erectile dysfunction after
spinal cord injury.