Regular use of erectile dysfunction medicines tied to ocular adverse events: JAMA

Canada: Regular phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5Is) users may be at a higher risk of developing retinal vascular occlusion (RVO), serous retinal detachment (SRD), and ischemic optic neuropathy (ION), says an article published in the JAMA Ophthalmology. 

A variety of case reports and smaller epidemiologic studies have estimated the risk of ocular adverse effects related to PDE5Is inhibitor treatment. However, the findings have been contradictory, and there is a lack of epidemiologic data on the risk of RVO and SRD. As a result, Mahyar Etminan and colleagues undertook this study to estimate the risk of SRD, RVO, and ION linked with the usage of PDE5Is.

The data for this cohort research, which included a nested case-control analysis, were gathered from the PharMetrics Plus database (IQVIA) between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2020. Cohort participants were tracked until they received their first diagnosis of SRD, RVO, or ION, or until their insurance coverage expired. Using density-based sampling, four controls were matched to each case based on age and time of study enrollment. After controlling for potential confounding factors, the risk for regular PDE5I users was compared to that of nonusers. Cases having SRD, RVO, or ION diagnoses in the year preceding the cohort were eliminated.