ReviewCureus2025
Low-Intensity Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (LI-ESWT) for Erectile Dysfunction in Patients Post-prostatectomy: A Systematic Review.
Review in Cureus, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Apparent Non-Response to Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibitors in Erectile Dysfunction: A Narrative Review of Structured Reassessment and Management.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common and distressing complication following radical prostatectomy, significantly affecting patients' quality of life. Low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy (LI-ESWT) has emerged as a non-invasive modality aimed at enhancing erectile function through tissue regeneration and improved neovascularisation. This review aims to systematically evaluate the safety and efficacy of LI-ESWT in the treatment of ED in men following prostatectomy. This systematic review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A comprehensive literature search was performed across PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, and Scopus for studies published between January 2015 and July 2025. Eligible studies included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies evaluating LI-ESWT for post-prostatectomy ED using validated outcome measures such as the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5) and Erection Hardness Score (EHS). Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias (RoB) 2.0 and the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Ten studies, of which five were RCTs and five were cohort studies, involving a total of 760 patients met the inclusion criteria. LI-ESWT was associated with statistically significant improvements in erectile function across most studies, particularly when combined with phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5is). IIEF-5 scores improved in both three-monthly and 6-12-monthly follow-ups, and EHS ≥3 was commonly achieved in combination therapy cohorts. No serious adverse events were reported. However, variations in treatment protocols, energy settings, and follow-up durations limited comparability and precluded meta-analysis. The overall certainty of evidence was moderate for efficacy and high for safety. LI-ESWT appears to be a safe and potentially effective treatment for ED following radical prostatectomy, particularly when initiated early and used alongside PDE5is. Despite encouraging results, heterogeneity among studies and treatment protocols, alongside methodological limitations, underscores the need for larger, high-quality RCTs to establish standardised protocols and confirm long-term benefits.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.