ROLE OF RADIONUCLIDE PHALLOGRAM IN THERAPEUTIC DECISION-MAKING FOR ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION

Objective. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of radion uclide phallograms in therapeutic decision-making for erectile dysfunc tion. Method. Forty-eight impotent men being considered for pharmacolo gically-induced penile erection therapy (PIPE) had radionuclide phallo grams (RP) as part of their evaluation. RP were performed using Tc-99m -labeled autologous red blood cells and provided a measurement of peni le blood volume (PBV) change following the intracorporeal injection of 0.25 to 0.3 mL of a papaverine/phentolamine mixture. Results. Thirty- eight patients showed a good response with a mean PBV increase 2.6 tim es baseline (range 1.2 to 8.9). Ten patients had significantly lower P BV changes (P = 0.001) than the first group, with a mean PBV increase of 1.6 times baseline (range 1.1 to 2.4). These ten patients were diss atisfied with pharmacologically induced penile erection (PIPE) therapy after an unsuccessful treatment trial. Conclusion. We conclude that t he RP can help to discriminate between patients who will benefit from PIPE therapy and those who will not. (C) 1998, Elsevier Science Inc. A ll rights reserved.