Premature Ejaculation: State of the Art

Premature ejaculation (PE) is a frequent male sexual complaint.This occurrence does not automatically imply the existence of a male sexual disorder. The current DSM definition of PE has a low positive predictive value with a high associated risk for false-positive diagnoses of PE. A new classification in four well-defined PE syndromes has recently been proposed for the pending DSM-V. According to this new classification there are different pathophysiologies and treatments of PE, dependent on the underlying PE syndrome. Some types are particularly neurobiologically or medically determined and need drug treatment; other types, which are mainly psychologically determined, need psychotherapy or both drug treatment and psychotherapy. A meta-analysis of all selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and clomipramine studies, which were performed according to current standards of evidence-based medicine, demonstrated a similar efficacy for the daily treatment with the serotonergic antidepressants paroxetine hemihydrate, clomipramine, sertraline, and fluoxetine, with paroxetine hemihydrate exerting the strongest effect on ejaculation. On-demand treatment with SSRIs generally exerts much less ejaculation delay than daily SSRI treatment. Other on-demand treatment options are the topical use of anesthetics, tramadol, and phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors. Caution is needed with tramadol with regard to its potential addictive properties. There is insufficient evidence for the ejaculation delaying effects of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors and intracavernous injection of vasoactive drugs.