Colour Doppler sonography of flaccid penis in evaluation of erectile dysfunction.

Background: Erectile dysfunction is a common and potentially treatable problem. Other than psychological, anatomical and metabolic factors, vasculogenic causes also play an important role in erectile dysfunction. Among the various diagnostic tools available for the diagnosis of vasculogenic causes, colour Doppler sonography is noninvasive, simple and promising.
Methods: This preliminary prospective study was conducted on 40 patients with erectile dysfunction, coming from a rural background to a hospital situated in a semi-urban setting.
Results: It was found that a cut-off value of 10 cm/second for peak systolic velocity in flaccid penis had the best accuracy among three chosen cut-off values, i.e. 5, 10, 15 cm/second, for detecting arterial insufficiency with sensitivity of 94.1%, specificity of 93.6%, negative predictive value of 98% and positive predictive value of 80%.
Conclusion: Doppler sonography may be used as a good predictor of clinical response to intracavernosal injection of a vasodilating pharmacological agent.