Objective: To investigate the clinical effect of tadalafil combined with behavioral therapy and psychological counseling in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED).
Methods: We collected the clinical data on 338 cases of ED treated in our andrology clinic with tadalafil combined with behavioral therapy and psychological counseling (the trial group, n = 159) or with tadalafil alone (the control group, n = 179) from January to December 2019. Using chief complaints scores as the main observation indexes, we evaluated the subjective feelings and objective symptoms of the patients during their sexual life.
Results: After treatment, the patients in the trial group, compared with the controls, showed significantly lower chief complaints scores (1.96 ± 1.38 vs 2.73 ± 1.80, P < 0.01) and higher satisfaction with the therapeutic effect (67.9% vs 47.5%, P < 0.01). No statistically significant difference was observed in the IIEF-5 scores between the two groups before and after treatment.
Conclusions: Tadalafil combined with behavior therapy and psychological counseling is superior to oral tadalafil alone in the treatment of ED, which affords greater satisfaction with the therapeutic effect, higher quality of sexual life, and better relationship between the partners.
Keywords: behavioral therapy; psychological counseling; tadalafil; erectile dysfunction.