Journal List > Korean J Urol > v.47(7) > 1069943

Kim, Kim, Choi, and Seo: Evaluation of the Nervous and Vascular Systems in Erectile Dysfunction Patients after Electric Injuries

Abstract

Purpose

There is a high prevalence of erectile dysfunction (ED) after electric injuries, but our medical understanding of ED after electric injuries is scanty at best. Thus, the authors attempted to investigate nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT), bulbocavernosus reflex latency (BCRL) and penile duplex Doppler ultrasonography (PDDU) for the patients who suffer from ED after electric injuries.

Materials and Methods

Of the patients who visited our Burn Care Center between January 2005 and February 2006, ten male patients (aged 20 or older) who complaining of ED after electric injuries underwent NPT, BCRL and PDDU.

Results

The patients' mean age was 38.1 years (age range: 25-54), and the numbers of patients exposed to whole body, upper-lower extremity and upper-upper extremity pathways of the electrical current were 1, 2 and 7, respectively. For the patient exposed to the whole body pathway, abnormal findings were observed on all the tests. For one patient who experienced two upper-lower extremity pathways, normal findings were seen on all the tests, while the other patient showed an abnormal NPT, an normal BCRL and an arteriogenic ED. Three of the patients who experienced the upper-upper extremity pathway showed normal findings on all the tests. The other two in the group showed an abnormal NPT, a normal BCRL and arteriogenic ED; the other one showed a normal vascular function, a abnormal NPT and no reaction to BCRL; the other one showed an abnormal NPT, a delayed BCRL and an arteriogenic ED.

Conclusions

More abnormal findings were seen in NPT, BCRL and PDDU for the cases associated with upper-lower body or whole body electrical current pathways, as compared to patients whose electrical pathways were limited to the upper body.

Figures and Tables

Table 1
Patient's characteristics and the pathway of electrical current
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Table 2
Whole body and upper-lower extremity pathways of electrical current
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*: whole body pathway of electrical current, : upper-lower extremity of electrical current, NPT: nocturnal penile tumescense, BCRL: bulbocavernosus reflex latency, PDDU: penile duplex Doppler ultrasonography, ED: erectile dysfunction

Table 3
Upper-upper extremity pathway of electrical current
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NPT: nocturnal penile tumescense, BCRL: bulbocavernosus reflex latency, PDDU: penile duplex Doppler ultrasonography, ED: erectile dysfunction

References

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7. Hunt JL, McManus WF, Haney WP, Pruitt BA Jr. Vascular lesions in acute electric injuries. J Trauma. 1974. 14:461–473.
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