EVALUATION OF REAL-TIME RIGISCAN MONITORING IN PHARMACOLOGICAL ERECTION

Purpose: The clinical assessment of pharmacologically induced erectile response was compared to the real-time RigiScan monitoring response. Materials and Methods: Erection was induced by 521 intracavernous inj ections of a new alprostadil formulation. The clinical end point was ' 'full rigidity'' and the RigiScan criterion was radial rigidity of 70% or more for 10 consecutive minutes or longer. Results: For 752 prosta glandin El injections the sensitivity and specificity of the RigiScan device compared to clinical evaluation were 53.8% (133 of 247 cases) a nd 92.9% (469 of 505), respectively. For rigidity of 60% or greater th e sensitivity increased to 70.8% (175 of 247 cases) and specificity de creased to 85.0% (429 of 505). Conclusions: The RigiScan device is use ful to document objectively a pharmacologically induced erection yet i t appears to be more conservative than clinical evaluation.