The effect of sustainable low-dose sildenafil and cognitive-behavioral training on sexual function in methadone-treated men-a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Sexual dysfunction caused by opioids is one of the serious problems of drug misusers. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the effect of continuous low-dose sildenafil treatment alongside psychological training on the sexual function of methadone-treated patients. METHOD: This randomized clinical trial was conducted on methadone-treated men with sexual dysfunction. Patients were randomly divided into two treatment groups: sildenafil 25 mg and psychological training. Sexual Quality of Life-Men, Sexual Self-Efficacy Scale-Erectile, and the International Index of Erectile Function were used before and 4 weeks after the end of the intervention. RESULTS: A total of 67 couples were included in the study (34 psychological interventions vs. 33 sildenafil group). After 4 weeks of treatment, the mean of male erectile function (33.73 +/- 8.114 and 27.62 +/- 6.238, p = 0.003) and sexual self-efficacy score (78.36 +/- 12.713 and 69.62 +/- 14.940, p < 0.0001) in the sildenafil group were statistically significant compared to the psychological group, however, the sexual quality score of the two groups was not statistically significant (31.48 +/- 9.216 and 31.71 +/- 11.333, p = 0.342). CONCLUSIONS: The sexual function of methadone-treated men in both groups was significantly improved, yet this difference was significantly greater in the pharmaceutical treatment group than the trainings. As a result, due to the high need for treatment, any type of intervention (medication or psychotherapy) will be effective in these patients.