Dados do Resumo

Título

Effectiveness of the FES current in the treatment of erectile dysfunction: Systematic review

Introdução

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is defined as the inability to obtain or maintain enough penis erection for sexual satisfaction. The risk factors associated with this condition are: systemic hypertension, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, prostatectomy and radiation therapy in the pelvic region. Functional electric stimulation (FES) can promote the recovery of the penis endothelium and consequent improvement of the function of muscle fibers through the restoration of neuromuscular connections.

Objetivo

The aim of this study is to systematically review randomized clinical trials on the effectiveness of the FES current in the treatment of erectile dysfunction compared with other interventions or placebo

Métodos

The criteria for inclusion in the study were: randomized clinical trials with men with erectile dysfunction being the primary treatment functional electric current and the control group (other interventions or placebo). Studies published in scientific journals, without language restriction. Searches were carried out in the databases PEDro, SciElo, LILACS, MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE and CINAHL. The analyses were carried out by two independent reviewers and followed the selection steps by reading the title, summary and reading the text in its entirety. To evaluate the methodological quality of the studies, the PEDro scale was used. For analysis of the studies the following data were extracted: characteristics of participants (age and comorbidities), parameters of the current FES, duration of session, frequency of treatment, total time of intervention, control group (other interventions or placebo) and the outcomes (quality of life, severity of erectile dysfunction and quality of erection).

Resultados

A total of 10,219 articles were found, of which 2 met the review inclusion criteria. Carboni et al. analyzed erectile function by the International Erectile Function Index (IIEF-5) and Erection Hardness Score (EHS) and for quality of life the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was used. Rislanu et al. only analyzed erectile function with IIEF-5. Carboni et al. obtained results with improved erectile function in both evaluation instruments, while the control group showed no improvement in instruments. In the study of Rislanu et al. both groups presented results with statistical significance. In relation to the quality of life Carboni et al. (8) obtained improvement in the intervention group with statistical significance in the fields of physical health, psychological and social relations, the control group improved in the psychological field and social relationship.

Conclusões

This study suggests that the FES current is a therapy capable of assisting in the treatment of erectile dysfunction, being a non-invasive, non-pharmacological and affordable method. However, this study has a small sample and so it is expected that other large-scale randomized clinical trials will be developed to verify the effectiveness of the FES current in the treatment of ED.

Palavras Chave

electric stimulation; erectile dysfunction; quality of life