Phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors: a review of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness

Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
Record ID 32011001159
English
Authors' recommendations: The majority of the information identified addressed the question about comparative clinical effectiveness of the PDE=5 inhibitors for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Two meta-analyses demonstrated no significant differences in efficacy of the three PDE-5 inhibitors in the treatment of erectile dysfunction, while another demonstrated that sildenafil might be more efficacious than vardenafil. All three meta-analyses were based upon the statistical method of indirect comparison, not direct head-to-head comparisons. Further, the meta-analysis that found sildenafil to be superior to vardenafil had relatively restrictive inclusion criteria and only looked at maximal fixed dosages of each drug. Two additional RCTs also had conflicting results, one favouring vardenafil over sildenafil and the other demonstrating no difference. The clinical importance of differences in efficacy measures was not stated in the RCT or meta-analysis that demonstrated differences between PDE-5 inhibitors. One observational study suggested that adverse effects might be prolonged with tadalafil, but this did not appear more bothersome to the patients. Overall, the included reports suggest that there are minimal differences between PDE-5 inhibitors in the treatment of erectile dysfunction in men over the age of 18 years.
Details
Project Status: Completed
Year Published: 2010
English language abstract: An English language summary is available
Publication Type: Not Assigned
Country: Canada
MeSH Terms
  • Phosphodiesterase 5 Inhibitors
  • Tadalafil
  • Erectile Dysfunction
Contact
Organisation Name: Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
Contact Address: 600-865 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1S 5S8 Canada. Tel: +1 613 226 2553; Fax: +1 613 226 5392;
Contact Name: requests@cadth.ca
Contact Email: requests@cadth.ca
Copyright: <p>Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH)</p>
This is a bibliographic record of a published health technology assessment from a member of INAHTA or other HTA producer. No evaluation of the quality of this assessment has been made for the HTA database.