Normal Rigiscan criteria in older potent men.

Purpose : To define the changes in penile tumescence and rigidity in normal ly potent older men before a nerve-sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy (NS-RRP) and to establish a baseline for investigating erectile dysfunctio n in that age group. Material and Methods : 75 patients used the Rigiscan for 2-3 nights before undergoing a NS-RRP procedure. Rigiscan data were analyzed visually using K aneko & Bradley criteria, and by computerized analysis. The computerized da ta were compared to the patient self-evaluation of potency (questionnaire), patient's age (above and below 60 years old), peak cavernosal artery veloc ity measured by Duplex Doppler scanning, and to the visual analysis of the Rigiscan data. Results : 55 of 75 men (73%) completed three sessions. 42 mea had at least 2 normal sessions, and when compared to the 33 with abnormal visual tracing s, only age was significantly characteristic (p < 0.05). Tip evens rigidity (%) in < 60 year-old men was greater than in older men (p<0.01). Nearly al l men had erections lasting more than 2 minutes, while only 29 of 74 had 10 minutes erections with rigidity > 70%. The best correlation between visual and computerized analyses was noted in the group of 54 men who experienced > 70% rigidity for more than 2 minutes. Conclusion : This large prospective series of potent older men studied by R igiscan and other subjective and objective parameters helps establishing no rmative darn in the diagnosis of erectile dysfunction. Art important observ ation is clearly the lack of correlation between the patient's questionnair e or the Doppler findings and the Rigiscan data.