A new parameter in the diagnosis of vascular erectile dysfunction with penile Doppler ultrasound: cavernous artery ondulation index

D. Yildirim, I.H. Bozkurt, B. Gurses, A. Cirakoglu

Department of Radiology and Department of Urology, Kasimpasa Military Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. yduzgun@yahoo.com

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• Urology

AIM: Our aim is to introduce the cavernous artery ondulation index (CA-OI) as a new parameter that could be accepted as an indirect indicator of vascular hemodynamics and also gives us information about the efficiency of erection.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 27 patients with erectile dysfunction were evaluated with penile Doppler ultrasonography (PDUS). After injection of papaverine intracavernously, arterial diameter and peak-systolic and end-diastolic velocities were measured. For measuring at a standart time, five minutes after injection, bilateral cavernosal arteries were examined and gray scale and color Doppler US images through the long axis were recorded at the mentioned phases. Cavernosal artery ondulation index (CA-OI) showing the amount of ondulation was calculated for each subject using these images.

RESULTS: In 9 of total 27 patients, erection could not pass the tumescence phase with 3 flaccid phases, while the remaining 18 had full erection. Mean CA-OI values were measured as 2.51±0.37 mm, 3.15±0.38 mm, and 2.68±0.09 mm in normal, arterial insufficiency and venous insufficiency groups, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to differentiate the arterial insufficiency by using the cut-off value of CA-OI ≥ 2.5 values as a criteria.

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