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“Doc, if it were you, what would you do?”: a survey of Men’s Health specialists’ personal preferences regarding treatment modalities

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 33, pages 303–310 (2021)Cite this article

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A Correction to this article was published on 09 April 2020

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Abstract

Men’s Health is a urological subspecialty that is at the forefront of innovation, but little data exist evaluating the attitudes that andrologists have toward the current treatment modalities available for managing Men’s Health conditions. A survey of 37 questions asking what providers would choose as treatment for common conditions was distributed online via Survey Monkey to members of the Sexual Medicine Society of North America and European Society for Sexual Medicine. A total of 115 respondents completed the survey after an initial screening question. For erectile dysfunction (ED), 40%, 38%, and 33% of providers indicated that they would use tadalafil daily, tadalafil on demand, or sildenafil on demand, respectively, as first-line phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor therapy. Furthermore, a total of 74% would elect to undergo low-intensity shockwave therapy [67%], platelet rich plasma injections [15%], and stem cell injections [15%]. Sex/behavioral therapy was preferred for both premature (36%) and delayed (52%) ejaculation. Approximately 44% of respondents indicated that they would undergo Collagenase Clostridium Histolyticum injections for Peyronie’s Disease in the acute phase. In the setting of hypogonadal symptoms with borderline low total testosterone levels (300–400 ng/dL), 69% of respondents would pursue testosterone therapy. The prostatic lift procedure was the preferred procedure for men seeking symptom resolution with preservation of ejaculatory function. Many Men’s Health specialists would pursue the least invasive options before considering procedural intervention for any given condition. Providers may shift their treatment preferences toward newer treatment modalities as longer term data become available.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States

    Maxwell Towe

  2. Department of Urology, University of California Irvine, Oakland, CA, United States

    Farouk El-Khatib, Mohamad Osman, Linda Huynh & Faysal A. Yafi

  3. Department of Urology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States

    Rafael Carrion

  4. Department of Urology, Kliniek Sint Jan, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Sam Ward

  5. Departments of Urology and Sexology, Amstelland Hospital, Amstelveen, The Netherlands

    Yavoc Reisman

  6. Department of Urology, Biruni University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ege Can Serefoglu

  7. Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, United States

    Alexander Pastuszak

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  1. Maxwell Towe
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Correspondence to Maxwell Towe.

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Conflict of interest

FAY is a consultant for Coloplast. AP is an advisor and speaker for Endo Pharmaceuticals, and received research and fellowship support from this entity. He is also an advisor for Boston Scientific and an advisor for Antares Pharmaceuticals. He is a speaker for Bayer AG. He is the founder of and maintains a leadership role in Woven Health. RC is a consultant for Coloplast, a consultant for Boston Scientific, and a consultant for Endo Pharmaceuticals. All other authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Towe, M., El-Khatib, F., Osman, M. et al. “Doc, if it were you, what would you do?”: a survey of Men’s Health specialists’ personal preferences regarding treatment modalities. Int J Impot Res 33, 303–310 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-020-0263-3

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