Penile Elastography Versus Penile Duplex Ultrasonography in Diagnosing Non‐Responders to Intracavernosal Injection

• Published in: Journal of ultrasound in medicine Vol. 43; no. 1; pp. 77 - 84
• Main Authors: Hassanin, Ahmed Mohamed, Elnabarawy, Ramzy, El‐Azizi, Hatem, GamalEl Din, Sameh Fayek, Ghaly, Mahmoud Fawzy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.01.2024
• Subjects: color duplex/Doppler ultrasonography; erectile dysfunction; International Index of Erectile Function‐5; intracavernosal injection; penile shear wave elastography
• ISSN: 0278-4297; 1550-9613
• DOI: 10.1002/jum.16339

Objectives The current study aims to investigate the value of penile elastography in assessing the fibrotic changes in the corpora cavernosa. Patients and Methods Eighty participants were included in the study. These were divided into two equal groups: a study group (group 1) included patients with ED who did not respond to intracavernosal injection (ICI), and an age‐matched control group (group 2) included age‐matched subjects with normal erection. All subjects answered an International Index of Erectile Function‐5 (IIEF‐5) questionnaire. The first group was evaluated by two ICI trials of 1 mL Quadmix, each took place 1 week apart, followed by a color duplex/Doppler ultrasonography (CDDU) scan using also a 1 mL Quadmix. All the above was done a week before the penile shear wave elastography (SWE) scan. It comprised a 12‐section scan of both corpora cavernosa. Each corpus was scanned in three different segments (proximal, mid‐shaft, and distal), and in both longitudinal and transverse axes. Results Comparisons of the laboratory data were non‐significant, apart from the glycosylated hemoglobin which proved significant (P value <.001) in both groups. Also, the IIEF‐5 scores were significantly lower in the study group (P value <.001). Significantly higher SWE readings (indicating higher fibrotic) were found in the study group compared with the control group in almost all of the scanned segments and their combinations (P value <.05). Conclusion SWE can effectively assess the fibrotic changes occurring in the corpora cavernosa. Hence, SWE could be utilized as a modality that helps diagnose patients with ED.