Low-Intensity Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Erectile Dysfunction in Diabetic Patients

Introduction: The cause of erectile dysfunction (ED) in diabetic patients is complex and involves both neurogenic and vasculogenic components and is often hard to treat. Aim: To study the effect of low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy (Li-ESWT) therapy on a subgroup of diabetic patients with ED who are responders (PDE5I-R) and non-responders (PDE5I-NR) to phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors (PDE5I). Methods: Analysis of pooled data from 5 double-blind, sham-controlled trials was performed. In this sub-analysis, of 350 patients in the PDE5I-R group and with vasculogenic ED, we found 61 patients with diabetes mellitus who underwent LI-ESWT. Another 48 patients (of 53) belonged to the PDE5I-NR group. Baseline efficacy was evaluated with the International Index of Erectile Function–Erectile Function domain questionnaire (IIEF-EF) for the PDE5I-R and with Erection Hardness Score, IIEF-EF, and flow-mediated dilation technique for the PDE5I-NR. Main Outcome Measures: Change in the IIEF-EF score after treatment of diabetes-induced ED with Li-ESWT in the PDE5i-R group vs the PDE5i-NR group. Results: LI-ESWT therapy was found to be effective in both subgroups of diabetic patients. Minimally clinical important difference in IIEF-EF score was achieved in 50%, 79.5%, 77.3%, and 65.9% of the subjects in the active group in after the sixth shockwave (SW) treatment evaluation (just before initiating the seventh SW session) and at 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months after the last SW treatment, respectively. The difference among the groups was significant (P < .05) after the sixth treatment and in all the follow-up periods. In the PDE5I-NR group, 55% of the active group were converted to PDE5I-5-R after LI-ESWT. The difference between the active and sham groups was statistically significant in all the tested measures (P < .001). Conclusion: LI-ESWT is safe and effective for the treatment of ED in PDE5I-R and PDE5I-NR groups. Spivak L, Shultz T, Appel B, et al. Low-Intensity Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy for Erectile Dysfunction in Diabetic Patients. Sex Med Rev 2019;XX:XXX–XXX.