Comparison of tamsulosin vs tamsulosin/sildenafil effectiveness in the treatment of erectile dysfunction in patients affected by type III chronic prostatitis

Aim: We evaluated the effectiveness of tamsulosin monotherapy versus tamsulosin plus sildenafil combination therapy on erectile dysfunction (ED) in young patients with type III chronic prostatitis and ED by using symptom score scales. Materials and methods: 44 male patients were divided into 2 groups: the first group (20 patients) was treated with tamsulosin 0,4 mg monotherapy and the second one 24 patients) was treated with tamsulosin 0,4 mg plus sildenafil 50 mg combination therapy. “International Prostate Symptom Score” (IPSS), “National Institute of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index” (NIH-CPSI) and “International Index of Erectile Function” (IIEF-5) were inves- tigated in each group of patients, and scores calculated during the first medical examination. Both groups were treated with tamsulosin once daily for 60 days, while sildenafil 50 mg was given on demand (at least 2 times per week) for 60 days. During the second medical examination IPSS, NIH-CPSI and IIEF-5 scores were analyzed once more. Afterwards, the alterations of scores among medical examinations in each group and between both groups were statistically compared. Results: The age average of the 44 cases included was 32.04 ± 3.15 years. Both groups present a statistically significant decrease, between the first and the second medical examination, in IPSS, NIH-CPSI scores and statistically significant increase in IIEF-5 score. In addition, there is no sta- tistically significant difference, in all scores, between mono and combination therapy. Conclusions: tamsulosin monotherapy, as well as a combination therapy (tamsulosin plus silde-nafil) has an improving effect on symptoms and on ED in patients with type III prostatitis. In the near future alpha-blockers monotherapy could be used in the treatment of chronic prostatitis and ED cases instead of phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitors combination therapy.