Do Antiplatelet Drugs Use Contribute to Clinical Outcomes in Patients Receiving Penile Low- Intensity Shock Wave Therapy (Li-SWT) for Erectile Dysfunction?

Aim: Low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy (Li-SWT) is one of the recommended treatment options in patients with erectile dysfunction (ED). Li-SWT is safe in patients using antiplatelet drugs (APs), however, there are no specific studies on the contribution of APs use to clinical improvement in erectile function. We aimed to evaluate the early clinical results of Li-SWT administration and whether the use of APs had an additional positive contribution to clinical improvement and safe in ED patients. Methods: Patients with ED for more than 6 months despite using (5 mg/day) PDE5i were included in our study. Patients treated with Li-SWT and using PDE5i were classified as Group 1, patients treated with Li-SWT and using APs and using PDE5i were considered Group 2. The evaluation results of the International Index of Erectile Function-Erectile Function Area(IIEF-EF) in all patients baseline and after treatment were examined. Results: There are 25 patients in each group. Analysis of IIEF-EF scores showed significant increases in both groups after treatment [group 1 (p=0.001); group 2 (p=0.001)]. When the IIEF-EF scores of the groups before and after the treatment were compared with each other; it was shown that baseline scores were similar(p=0.746) and that APs use had no statistically significant effect on post-treatment scores (p=0.613) No side effects were seen in APs. Conclusions: This study showed that penile Li-SWT significantly increases the IIEF-EF scores and response of (5 mg/day) PDE5i in ED patients and safe, also in AP users. However, Using AP in Li- SWT does not contribute positively to clinical results.