Evaluation of the effect of daily tadalafil 5 mg versus daily sildenafil 25 mg on neutrophil-lymphocyte and platelet-lymphocyte ratios in patients with erectile dysfunction: A comparative randomized controlled study.

Background: Previous studies had shown that the neutrophils/lymphocytes (NLR) and platelets/lymphocytes (PLR) ratios could be used as markers of inflammatory load as well as prognostic factors in several medical conditions. The current study aimed to compare the effect of using daily tadalafil 5 mg/day versus daily sildenafil 25 mg/day in improving erectile function as well as their ability to reduce NLR and PLR.

Methods: One hundred and four participants were recruited. Seventy-four randomized patients with erectile dysfunction were equally divided into 2 groups. Patients in group A used daily tadalafil 5 mg for 2 months while patients in group B used daily sildenafil 25 mg for 2 months. Patients were collected from June 2022 to June 2023. Thirty healthy individuals served as controls. All patients and controls were evaluated using the validated Arabic version of the international index of erectile function (ArIIEF-5) at baseline and after 2 months of medical treatment. Five cc of venous blood sample was obtained before and after 2 months of medical treatment to compare the effect of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE-5Is) intake for erectile dysfunction on PLR and NLR before and after treatment.

Results: The current study showed that there were no statistically significant differences between the cases and the controls apart from the ArIIEF-5 scores. Moreover, there was no significant difference between patients in group A and those in group B regarding PLR and NLR post administration of PDE-5Is. Interestingly, patients in group A demonstrated a highly significant difference between the ArIIEF-5 scores as well as the PLR and the NLR before and 2 months after administration of daily tadalafil 5 mg. On the other hand, patients in group B who were administrated daily sildenafil 25 mg for 2 months demonstrated only a highly significant difference between the ArIIEF-5 scores before and after administration. Meanwhile, patients in group B did not reveal any statistically significant difference in the PLR and the NLR before and 2 months after administration of sildenafil 25 mg. Further regression analysis after adjustment of different variables of the study showed a significant correlation between ArIIEF-5 and PLR in patients who received daily tadalafil 5 mg (r=0.430, p=0.004).

Conclusions: Tadalafil and sildenafil have similar clinical efficacy in treating erectile dysfunction. However, tadalafil is more effective in lowering PLR and NLR compared to sildenafil.