Priapism associated with pregabalin

Abstract

Priapism is a well-known cause of erectile dysfunction. There are a wide variety of causes, including hemoglobinopathy, neurological diseases, and drugs. We present a case report of an Asian man who presented with priapism that was continuous for 3 days after taking three doses of pregabalin for chronic back pain. Cavernous aspiration, phenylephrine injection, and a winter shunt all failed to achieve detumescence. The patient then presented to our institution on the 5 th day of his initial presentation, and an El-Ghorab shunt was performed, after which detumescence and pain relief were achieved. We suggest that pregabalin might induce tumescence through acting on the α2δ1 subunit of voltage-gated calcium channels in the penile smooth muscle or by presynaptic inhibition of noradrenaline release. Further studies are warranted regarding the action of pregabalin and its effect on penile physiology.

Keywords

• Drug-induced priapism
• pregabalin
• priapism