Causes of tadalafil failure and rechallenging treatment / 中华泌尿外科杂志

ABSTRACT

ObjectiveTo assess the cause of tadalafil failure and the feasibility of successfully rechallenging nonresponding patients.Methods A total of 80 consecutive erectile dysfunction ( ED ) patients who claimed poor response to tadalafil were enrolled into the study.A self-administered tadalafil-use questionnaire composed of eight questions was applied to assess how they had used tadalafil.Subjects were given thorough instruction based on individual answers and four doses of tadalafil 20mg.After a 2-week follow-up,end point efficacy of rechallenge was evaluated using the sexual encounter profile (SEP),which was recommended by international advisory panel in 2004.ResultsA total of 45 subjects had one or more areas of major suboptimal use of tadalafil:21.2％ did not know that sexual stimulation was necessary for tadalafil to work,87.5％ attempted to use tadalafil less than four times,57.5％ took a maximal dose less than 20 mg,and 84％ felt nervous or anxious.Of the 65 patients undergoing tadalafil rechallenge,30 patients answered “yes” to SEP2 and SEP3.The response rate to rechallenge was 46.2％ ( 30/65 ).ConclusionsInappropriate use of tadalafil was major cause of tadalafil non-pesponse.The efficacy of tadalafil could be improved to a better extent by education of patients.