Doppler sonography of the penile cavernosal artery: Comparison of intraurethral instillation and intracorporeal injection of prostaglandin E-1

Purpose. We compared the Doppler sonographic findings in the penile caverno sal artery (arteria profunda penis) after intraurethral instillation and in tracorporeal injection of prostaglandin E-1 (PGE(1)) to evaluate the hemody namic changes during drug-induced erection. Methods. Twenty healthy male volunteers were enrolled in the study. Ten sub jects (intraurethral group) were examined with Doppler sonography of the pe nile cavernosal artery after intraurethral administration of 1 mg of PGE(1) . The remaining 10 subjects (intracorporeal group) underwent Doppler sonogr aphy of the cavernosal artery after intracorporeal injection of 5 mug of PG E(1). The peak systolic velocity, minimal diastolic velocity, and resistanc e index were determined at 5-minute intervals for 30 minutes following admi nistration of PGE(1) in both groups. The results were compared between the 2 groups. Results. The peak systolic velocity in the intraurethral group increased pr ogressively from a mean of 31.1 cm/second at 5 minutes to 65.6 cm/second at 30 minutes after intraurethral administration of PGE(1). In the intracorpo real group, the mean peak systolic velocity ranged from 44.1 to 83.2 cm/sec ond, reached a maximum at 10 minutes, and then decreased continuously throu gh 30 minutes after intracorporeal injection of PGE(1). The mean peak systo lic velocities were significantly higher in the intracorporeal group at 10 and 15 minutes (p less than or equal to 0.05); the mean minimal diastolic v elocities were significantly lower in the intracorporeal group at 15, 20, a nd 25 minutes (p less than or equal to 0.05); and the mean resistance indic es were significantly higher in the intracorporeal group at all time points except 5 minutes (p less than or equal to 0.05). Conclusions. The intracorporeal injection of PGE(1) produced a greater vaso active response in the cavernosal artery than did intraurethral instillatio n. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.