Monotherapy with α-blocker or phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor for lower urinary tract symptoms?

摘要

In this edition of the journal, Oelke and colleagues report the results of an interesting study contrasting the efficacy of tadalafil 5 mg or tamsulosin 0.4 mg versus placebo over a 12-wk period after 4 wk of placebo run-in [1]. This is the first study to synchronously contrast these two agents with placebo.They evaluated 510 men who were started on the study drug with a 1:1:1 randomisation. It is important to emphasise that this study was not powered to contrast the active drugs with each other, but just with placebo. Using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) and the International Index of Erectile Function-Erectile Function Domain (IIEF-ED) as parameters, they demonstrated improved efficacy of tadalafil 5 mg (n = 171) and tamsulosin 0.4 mg (n = 168) compared with placebo (n = 172) at 12 wk.