THE EFFECT OF INTRACAVERNOSAL INJECTION OF PAPAVERINE HYDROCHLORIDE ON ORGASM LATENCY

The research literature on the employment of various vasoactive drugs to induce penile erection has largely examined assessment and treatmen t techniques. One study(1) specifically examined the duration of erect ion, or ''orgasm latency,'' of the drug-induced erection. However, it did not determine the relation of this duration to pre-impotence durat ion. The intent of the present investigation was to maize this determi nation. Subjects at a urology department impotence clinic were asked t o estimate orgasm latency prior to impotence and with papaverine-induc ed erection. The mean orgasm latency prior to impotence was 9.9 minute s; with papaverine, 15 minutes. It is concluded that papaverine inject ion not only causes an erection but makes it last longer than naturall y occurring erections.