This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Onel, E. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Onel, E.

Book Review

Oral Pharmacotherapy for Male Sexual Dysfunction: A Guide to Clinical Management

edited by Gregory A. Broderick, hardcover, 457 pp., Totowa, NJ: Humana Press; 2005. ISBN 15882951-X. Cost: $99.50

General Medicine (Urology), Boehringer-Ingelheim Corporation, Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Type of Book: A multiauthored, edited volume.

Scope of Book: An extremely comprehensive review of male sexual dysfunction as it relates to the practicing clinician, with some additional topics thrown in as well (eg, female sexual dysfunction). Contrary to the statement in the title, the book does not stop at oral pharmacotherapy but covers a range from physiology and epidemiology of erectile dysfunction, through oral, penile, endocrinological, and surgical therapies, and into a brief exploration of ejaculatory function.

Contents: This reference encompasses 19 chapters written by 34 specialists in sexual medicine throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. Authors range in discipline from urology and obstetrics/gynecology to psychiatry, endocrinology, cardiology, community health, family practice, sexual health, and even a PhD from industry. The chapters are generally brief, averaging about 20 pages, with reasonable tables and illustrations. Only 5 chapters are devoted to oral pharmacotherapy for male sexual dysfunction (with one of those covering ejaculatory dysfunction). The rest cover introductory topics and specific issues (eg, post prostatectomy, the diabetic patient); the book does a disservice to itself by potentially limiting its audience just to those interested in oral medications. The chapters are complete and thorough, given the time limitations of a hardcover book (eg, no mention of the nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy causing sudden vision loss in patients on phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors that has recently been in the lay press and reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration). Although the book will occasionally fall victim to trying to be all things to all readers, the authors generally stay true to the clinical objective stated in the title.

Strengths: Although the book maintains a consistent level of excellence in the brevity, directness, and completeness of most of its chapters, some chapters that are often not covered as well in standard urology textbooks stand out as must reads: prevention and treatment of erectile dysfunction by lifestyle changes and dietary supplements; central therapy; erectile dysfunction assessment and management in primary care practice; when to refer the patient with erectile dysfunction to a specialist; erectile dysfunction—assessing risk and managing the cardiac patient; and depression and antidepressant-associated erectile dysfunction.

Deficiencies: In a work that is so carefully put together, with an intended audience that might not always know the first place to turn, it is a shame that the index seems to have been added almost as an afterthought. Some topics are not referenced at all (eg, Peyronie's disease, the International Index of Erectile Function), whereas others seem almost overreferenced—particularly alternative therapies and nutraceuticals.

Recommended Readership: This will serve as an excellent reference for primary care physicians, residents, and nurses who function as the first point of contact for patients with sexual dysfunction, as well as a useful refresher and summary to urologists and members of other disciplines who have more experience in sexual dysfunction.

Overall Grading:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Onel, E. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Onel, E.