AB192. Efficacy and safety of local anaesthetics in the treatment of premature ejaculation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of local anaesthetics for premature ejaculation (PE), a systematic review of the literature was performed using the Cochrane Library, PubMed and EMBASE. METHODS: We screened and retrieved the randomised controlled trials on the treatment of PE with local anaesthetics. End points included intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT), patient-reported outcome assessments and adverse events. Meta-analyses were conducted with STATA 11.0. RESULTS: In total, seven publications involving 566 patients with local anaesthetics and 388 with placebos strictly met our eligibility criteria. Meta-analyses showed that after the patients were treated with the local anaesthetics, the value of the standardised mean difference of the changes in IELT was 5.02 (95% CI: 3.03-7.00). A higher rate of adverse events occurred compared with placebos (odds ratio =3.30; 95% CI: 1.71-6.36), but these events were restricted to local side effects. In addition, significantly greater improvement was observed in patient-reported outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, local anaesthetics can prolong IELT and improve ejaculatory control and sexual satisfaction.