[Effectiveness and treatment satisfaction in patients with erectile dysfunction in Spain: EDOS study]

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a worldwide health problem with an ever increasing prevalence, affecting the quality of life of many patients.

The aim of this study was to describe treatment effectiveness and patient satisfaction with ED treatment in the Spanish cohort of the EDOS study.

This observational, pan-European study, assessed treatment effectiveness and patient satisfaction with ED treatment under routine clinical settings, using standard questionnaires. Men > or =18 years about to initiate or change ED treatment were enrolled. Patients were assessed at baseline, 3 and 6 months.

A total of 1,029 patients were analyzed (12.8% of the total European sample). In general, the Spanish population characteristics are consistent with the overall population. At baseline 56.6% of patients received tadalafilo, 16.6% sildenafilo, 19.6% vardenafilo, and 7.2% received other treatments. At 3 months, a higher proportion of patients on tadalafil reported improved erections (GAQ 1: 96.5% tadalafil, 85.7% sildenafil and 87.2% vardenafil), satisfaction with treatment (EDITS: 84.2% tadalafil, 75.0% sildenafil and 76.0% vardenafil), and sexual self confidence (SF-PAIRS: 2.73 tadalafil, 2.39 sildenafil and 2.55 vardenafil), in comparison with sildenafil and vardenafil. At 6 months, differences between treatments were not significant. The mean+/-SD time elapsed from drug intake to sexual intercourse was higher for patients on tadalafil (18.6+/-26.4 h) compared to sildenafil (3.6+/-7.5) and vardenafil (8.6+/-19.4).

The longer duration of action for tadalafil, and thus, the longer period of time between dosing and sexual intercourse may contribute to enhance sexual spontaneity, patient satisfaction with the treatment and greater self-confidence.