Treatment duration of action is important in ED
Duration of action of erectile dysfunction treatment appears to be the most important factor when patients are able to choose which product to use, data from three patient preference studies suggest.
The three studies were presented at last week’s European
Society for Sexual Medicine congress in London and their results show a broad
consensus that after trying three phosphodiesterase inhibitors most men
will choose to continue with tadalafil.
The first study asked 120 men with previously untreated erectile dysfunction
(ED) to use sildenafil (Viagra), tadalafil (Cialis) and vardenafil (Levitra)
for six weeks each. The order of the treatments was randomised.
At the end of the study the most important factor in deciding which treatment
to continue with was duration of action — 15 per cent wanted to
carry on taking vardenafil, 19 per cent sildenafil and 62 per cent tadalafil.
The second study looked at 418 treatment-naive men with ED who were asked
to use each phosphodiesterase inhibitor at least four times. The data
suggest that men with milder erectile dysfunction prefer to take tadalafil
but that the popularity of sildenafil and vardenafil increases with severity
of the problem.
The final study was carried out in 107 men with diabetes and ED. Around
two thirds had used sildenafil before. The results show that 15 per cent
preferred taking sildenafil, 28 per cent vardenafil and 36 per cent tadalafil.
Of those who preferred taking tadalafil, 82 per cent said they liked
the longer duration of action.
Author of the first study, Benny Verheyden, consultant urologist at the
University of Antwerp, commented: “We also saw a clear trend towards
a preference for tadalafil for those in long-term, stable
relationships.
“Sildenafil and vardenafil tended to be chosen by men in relationships
with short and well planned sexual encounters.”
No pharmaceutical industry funding was declared for the three studies. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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