[Application of superb microvascular imaging in manifesting the blood flow of the penile cavernous artery in vascular ED patients].

Objective: To investigate the application value of superb microvascular imaging (SMI) in the diagnosis of penile vascular ED.
Methods: Seventy-two ED patients underwent SMI and color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI), all ultrasonographically diagnosed with penile vascular ED. We compared SMI and CDFI in detecting the grades of blood flow in the cavernous artery and the lengths of time needed to obtain satisfactory blood flow spectrum from the patients.
Results: SMI mainly revealed grades Ⅲ and Ⅳ blood flow, in 43 and 20 of the 72 patients (87.5%), while CDFI chiefly manifested grades Ⅰ and Ⅱ blood flow, in 26 and 32 cases respectively (80.6%). The former showed significantly better manifestations of the penile cavernous artery than the latter. It took less time to obtain the spectrums of grades Ⅲ and Ⅳ blood flow (［1.52 ± 0.18］ and ［1.21 ± 0.11］ min) than grades Ⅰ and Ⅱ (［5.23 ± 0.44］ and ［4.46 ± 0.65］ min), and SIM took significantly less time than CDFI (［1.32 ± 0.42］ vs ［4.53 ± 0.67］ min, P < 0.05).
Conclusions: SMI is superior to CDFI in better manifesting the blood flow of the penile cavernous artery and shortening the examination time, and therefore deserves a wide application in the diagnosis of vascular ED.