Alternate-day tadalafil in the management of honeymoon impotence

Unconsummated marriage: a systematic review of etiological factors and clinical management

BACKGROUND

Unconsummated marriage (UCM) is the inability of the heterosexual married couple to have penovaginal sexual intercourse.

AIM

The study sought to systematically review current evidence regarding the etiological factors and clinical management of UCM.

METHODS

A comprehensive bibliographic search on the MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases was performed in June 2023. Studies were selected if they described married couples who never had sexual intercourse in case report or case series evaluating the related causes and/or management and reporting data with qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods. The review was reported according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses) statement and registered in PROSPERO with ID CRD42023433040.

RESULTS

A total of 27 studies including 1638 males and 1587 females were selected. Eight (29.6%) articles were case reports involving a single couple and 19 (70.4%) studies were case series. Mean Murad score was 4.1 (range, 1-8) showing low-intermediate overall study quality. All articles had a level of evidence of 4. Most of studies were conducted in Egypt (n = 5 [18.4%]), Israel (n = 4 [14.9%]), and the United States (n = 4 [14.9%]). The mean age of males and females varied between 24.2 and 37.6 years and from 21 to 27.4 years, respectively. The reasons for the medical visit that led to the diagnosis of UCM were inability to consummate in 23 (85.2%) studies, inability to conceive in 1 (3.7%) article, and mixed in 3 (11.1%) articles. The mean duration of UCM varied from 7 days to 3.5 years. Eight studies involving both men and women showed that vaginismus (8.4%-81%) and erectile dysfunction (10.5%-61%) were the most common causes of UCM. Three articles reported that 16.6% to 26% of all UCM cases were due to both male and female factors. Sildenafil, tadalafil, intracavernosal injection, penile plication, female genital reconstructive surgery, vaginal dilators, lubricants, psychosexual therapy, and sex education were the various treatment modalities in 27 studies to achieve consummation rate of 66.6% to 100%.

STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS

A strength is that this is the first systematic review covering the entire spectrum of UCM. Limitations comprised the low quality of most of the included articles and the large percentage of UCM cases probably not published.

CONCLUSION

Erectile dysfunction and vaginismus are the most reported causes of UCM; however, a strong psychological component certainly underlies a significant number of cases. A multidisciplinary approach based on strategic integration of sex education, medical therapy, psychosexual support, and surgical treatment would seem the most suitable option to manage couples with UCM.

Unconsummated marriage among Chinese couples: a retrospective study

Background

Unconsummated marriage (UCM) is a significant problem among couples who are unable to achieve successful sexual intercourse and penovaginal penetration, and the etiology and clinical characteristics of UCM in Chinese couples remain unknown.

Aim

In a retrospective analysis of patients with UCM, we investigated clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes among Chinese couples with UCM.

Methods

During the period from January 2019 to May 2021, we examined 127 consecutive couples with unconsummated marriage. The couples were evaluated separately by andrologists and gynecologists, and combined treatments were conducted by therapists.

Outcomes

We calculated the distribution of etiologies of UCM in Chinese couples.

Results

Among the couples whose data were evaluated, 93 couples visited the andrologist first and 34 couples visited the gynecologist first. The most common complaints associated with sexual dysfunction were erectile dysfunction (ED) in male patients and vaginismus and dyspareunia in female patients. Unconsummated marriage among Chinese couples was caused primarily by female factors (55.8%). With couple-oriented treatment conducted by sexual therapists, the success rate was 67.7%.

Clinical Translation

If a couple is diagnosed with UCM, both the husband and wife should be treated individually receive guidance from a sex therapist toward successful sexual intercourse.

Strengths and Limitations

This is to our knowledge the first report regarding the etiology of UCM in Chinese couples. Here we report our routine diagnostic and therapeutic workups. However, we were not able to perform hormonal and imaging studies of the female partners. Moreover, patients presenting with UCM who visited our department without a partner were not included in the statistics.

Conclusions

Unconsummated marriage among Chinese couples may be caused byfactors affecting both the husband and wife or the husband and wife individually; however, factors affecting women are the predominant causes of UCM. Lack of knowledge about sex-related issues, as well as cultural beliefs, play an important role. A preliminary evaluation by an andrologist and a gynecologist, followed by couple treatment conducted by the sex therapist, is highly `recommended to treat UCM effectively.

Unconsummated marriage: can it still be considered a consequence of vaginismus?

Unconsummated marriage (UM) is the failure to perform successful sexual intercourse at the beginning of the marriage. Vaginismus has been traditionally reported as the leading cause. ED is also a leading cause for UM. This appears to be a significant problem in the conservative middle-Eastern societies and in the developing countries, where couples are strongly prevented by religious rules and cultural taboos from sexual experiences before wedding. One could think that according to major sexual freedom and information, in Western countries UM is now disappearing, but the number of observed cases by the authors in 2008-2012 was relevant. The aim of this study is to compare the literature data from non-Western countries with the features of UM in Western ones, focusing on cases observed by the authors, and to verify whether the etiology of UM proposed in the '70s is still relevant, outlining any changes that occur in current reality. In our series, traditional appearance of UM is no more effective, while the role of man is undervalued, because of his frailty, lack of self-confidence and ignorance, expressing a social and cultural change of man's role in the couple.

Congenital penile curvature presenting as unconsummated marriage. Repair by 16-dot plication with subjectively reported patient and partner satisfaction

Objective

To evaluate self-reported patient and partner satisfaction in cases of unconsummated marriage due to congenital penile curvature that was treated by the 16-dot plication procedure.

Patients and methods

From March 2008 to March 2012, 24 couples presented to our institute with an unconsummated marriage due to congenital penile curvature. All patients were treated using the 16-dot plication operation. Patients were followed up for 3 months and were asked, with their partners, to complete a specific questionnaire to evaluate their satisfaction with the outcome of the operation.

Results

The duration of unconsummated marriage was 2–12 weeks. The mean (SD, range) angle of penile curvature was 57.4 (20.3, 30–110)°. All patients were able to consummate their marriage within a mean (SD, range) of 5.3 (1.3, 4–8) weeks after surgery. The overall satisfaction rate with the outcome of the operation among patients was nearly 100% for ‘moderately satisfied’ or greater, and among their partners was nearly 96% for ‘moderately satisfied’ or greater, at 3 months.

Conclusion

The 16-dot plication technique is an easy procedure for the emergent correction of congenital penile curvature presenting as an unconsummated marriage. Most patients and their partners were pleased with the outcome of the procedure.

Erectile dysfunction in Arab countries. Part II: Diagnosis and treatment

Objective

To review local published data on the diagnosis and treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) in Arab countries.

Methods

MEDLINE was searched for English-language articles published from 2000 to 2011, using the search terms ‘Arab countries’, ‘sexual dysfunction’, ‘diagnosis’ and ‘treatment’.

Results

In all, 86 articles were found to be relevant to this review; only a few had a high level of evidence and the remaining studies used an uncontrolled design. Several local studies were consistent with previous reports showing that a customised diagnostic pathway, with full consideration of the patient’s goals, is adopted by most clinicians to treat ED. For an effective treatment, the evaluation methods should answer important questions about the aetiology and severity of ED, as well as the patient’s and partner’s goals and expectations. As ED is known to be associated with many common medical comorbidities and medications, careful questioning can yield information about peripheral vascular disease, coronary artery disease, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, and tobacco and alcohol use. The presence of psychological, neurological or chronic debilitating diseases can direct further evaluation.

Conclusion

The methods used for the diagnosis and treatment of ED need more investigation, especially in Arab countries. Only a few studies addressed the results of different methods of investigating and treating ED among Arab men.

Efficacy of sildenafil on erectile dysfunction of newlyweds

To explore the efficacy of sildenafil on erectile dysfunction (ED) of newlyweds, the author studied 60 outpatients within a month of marriage, who suffered from sexual intercourse (SI) failure caused by ED and showed no improvement after receiving sex education and psychological consultation. The patients were given oral sildenafil, 100 mg for the first and second times, 50 mg for the third and fourth times, no more than once every day, with a 1- to 3-day break between every two times. Four times of sildenafil administration formed one course of treatment. Sildenafil was taken 1 h before SI and was aided with adequate sexual stimulation. The rates of successful SI due to improved erection during and after a course of sildenafil treatment were 93.3% (56/60) and 85% (51/60), both P > 0.05. In the groups with one and more than one SI failure the successful SI rates after a sildenafil treatment course were 93.1% (27/29) and 77.4% (24/31), both P > 0.05. Oral sildenafil with psychological therapy in the treatment of ED of newlyweds proves to be effective in restoring the patients' sexual function and relieving their mental pressure or stress.