Oral dapoxetine versus topical lidocaine as on-demand treatment for lifelong premature ejaculation: A randomised controlled trial

This trial aimed to assess the efficacy of on-demand oral dapoxetine versus topical lidocaine treatments for lifelong PE. Cases with lifelong PE were randomised to start treatment by oral dapoxetine 60 mg or topical lidocaine 10% spray. The intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (ILET), validated Arabic Index for PE (AIPE), Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) and frequency of intercourse/week were recorded at the baseline and after 12 weeks treatment period of the first medication before two weeks washout period and then crossing over to the other one for another 12 weeks. Results showed that both medications significantly increased both IELT and AIPE scores compared with the baseline being significantly better with topical lidocaine (63.44 s, 179.4 s versus 21.87 s, p < .05). Significant decrease of SHIM score was recorded with lidocaine but not with dapoxetine. Global Efficacy Question for the patient's assessment of the effectiveness of drugs showed that lidocaine was described as being effective by 43 cases and ineffective by 12 cases, oral dapoxetine was described as being effective by 16 cases and ineffective by 39 cases. From these accumulated data, it is concluded that topical lidocaine is more effective on-demand therapy for lifelong PE compared with oral dapoxetine.