Design and Methods Used In the Study
A study by Aversa et al. to establish the effects of the drug vardenafil on obese men with sexual dysfunction uses all male obese subjects attending the outpatient unit of the health facility (2012). Exclusion criteria for participants include patients on certain medications such as antidiabetic, cardiovascular, statin, and other conditions as described in a previously administered questionnaire.
Twenty subjects participate in the study for 8 weeks by recording their sexual experiences during the study period in a questionnaire and a diary (Aversa et al., 2012). Bronner and Vodušek attempt to manage sexual dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease (PD) since this disease significantly affects sexual function (2011).
They suggest the introduction of dopaminergic drugs and the subsequent follow-up on patients diagnosed with PD. They also encourage the use of lubricants by female patients and timely counseling for all patients. Mastalir, Carvalhal, and Portal seek to investigate the outcome of the drug simvastatin in sexual dysfunction because of endothelial dysfunction.
Twenty one patients receive 20 mg of simvastatin while 20 others receive a placebo for a period of six months. Subsequently, they all get 10 mg of vardenafil on demand for four weeks. Tomlinson and Wright, in an exploratory qualitative study with semi-structured interviews, seek to explore the effect of treating SD using sildenafil (2004). The study uses 40 men with erectile dysfunction and questionnaires to get information on the sexual experiences of the participants.
Reis, de Angelo, Sakamoto, Ferriani, and Lara assess serum hormone concentrations, quality of semen, frequency of sexual intercourse, and erectile function in men with epileptic seizures taking carbamazepine (2013). The study uses semi-structured questionnaires and the IIEF-5 form to obtain patient responses.
Method of Analysis
Aversa et al. use analysis of variance to assess disparities among treatment clusters (2012). A 50% increase in IELT (intravaginal ejaculatory latency time) is quantified using a two-sided alpha value of 0.05. The arithmetic mean IELT is compared with BMI using a multiple regression analysis. The study considers a P-value <0.05±s.d. as statistically significant and performs all analyses using SPSS and SAS computer statistical packages (Aversa et al., 2012).
Bronner and Vodušek analyze the efficacy of treatment on reported patient responses (2011). Tests such as “serum cholesterol, hormone profile, ultrasensitive C-reactive protein, the International Index of Erectile Dysfunction (IIEF), and the ED Index of Treatment Satisfaction” are done after the treatment of patients with simvastatin, placebo, and vardenafil (Mastalir, Carvalhal, & Portal, 2011 p. 242).
The study uses statistical tests like the Student’s t-test, Wilcoxon Signed Rank, χ2, Mann–Whitney test, and ANOVA (Mastalir, Carvalhal, & Portal, 2011). Tomlinson and Wright use thematic analysis to spot and investigate issues concerning the participants’ experiences (2004). The study carries out the data analysis concomitantly with data collection to enable full tackling of emergent concerns in subsequent interviews.
The researchers carry out progressive focusing by grouping identified topics into sub-themes for further discussion. The study uses the NUD*ist software to handle and retrieve all the data in the research (Tomlinson & Wright, 2004).
Reis et al. use 118 men in their research (2013). Of the 118 men, 63 are epileptic while 55 are normal. Blood samples from all the participants are tested for the various parameters after which a comparison between the two groups is made using P test as the statistical test (Reis et al., 2013).
References
Aversa, A., Francomano, D., Bruzziches, R., Natali, M., Guerra, A., Latini, M., Donini, L. M., & Lenzi, A. (2012). A pilot study to evaluate the effects of vardenafil on sexual distress in men with obesity. International Journal of Impotence Research, 24(3), 122-125.
Bronner, G. & Vodušek D. B. (2011). Management of sexual dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease. Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders, 4(6), 375-383.
Mastalir, E. T., Carvalhal, G. F., & Portal, V. L. (2011). The effect of simvastatin in penile erection. International Journal of Impotence Research, 23(6), 242-248.
Reis, R. M., de Angelo, A. G., Sakamoto, A. C., Ferriani, R. A., & Lara, L. A. S. (2013). Altered sexual and reproductive functions in epileptic men taking carbamazepine. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 10(2), 493-499.
Tomlinson, J., Wright, D. (2004). Impact of erectile dysfunction and its subsequent treatment with sildenafil: Qualitative study. BMJ. 328, 1037-1039. Web.