A randomized study examining the effect of 3 SSRI on premature ejaculation using a validated questionnaire

Mohamed Arafa^1,2, Rany Shamloul¹

¹Andrology department, Cairo University hospital, Cairo, Egypt; ²Dr Fakhry hospital, El-Khobar, Saudi Arabia

Aim: This study reports the results of a large prospective single-blinded clinical trial of 3 SSRI (paroxetine, fluoxetine and escitalopram) in PE using a validated questionnaire.

Methods: A total of 100 normally potent men suffering from PE were enrolled in a randomized single-blinded comparative study of fluoxetine, paroxetine and escitalopram. Patients were randomized into 3 treatment groups. Group 1 comprised 33 men who received fluoxetine 20 mg daily, group 2 comprised 37 men who received escitalopram 10 mg and group 3 comprised 30 men who received paroxetine 20 mg daily. All drug regimens were given in early morning dose and continued for 4 weeks.

Results: All 100 (100%) patients experienced a significant increase in their AIPE total score after drug treatment. There was no significant difference regarding any of the 7 items of the AIPE between the 3 treatment groups. All 3 drugs were generally well tolerated.

Conclusions: Our relatively large study, using a validated questionnaire confirmed similar useful effect of paroxetine, fluoxetine and escitalopram on ejaculation time. Further large cohort studies with long-term follow up are needed to evaluate the sustained effects of these drugs on ejaculation latency.