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Are buckling force measurements reliable in nocturnal penile tumescence studies?
Sleep. 1993 Feb; 16(2):156-62.S

Abstract

The study of nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) is frequently used to evaluate male erectile dysfunction. Buckling force, a measure of rigidity, is an important part of this evaluation, but its reliability is unknown. Accordingly, we studied the reliability of buckling force measurement and the stability of "maximum buckling force" between consecutive NPT series repeated in the same subject. For individual subjects, we correlated buckling forces for separate episodes of sleep-related tumescence that were of comparable fullness (0-100%) as rated by a technician's visual estimates. For healthy control subjects, test-retest correlations were > 0.8 both within-night and across study series separated by an average of 70 weeks. In depressed men, correlations within nights were > 0.9, but fell to 0.64 across study series separated by an average of 21 weeks. Despite the high reliability of buckling force measurement, we found little stability of "maximum buckling force" between NPT series for individual subjects. Considerable variability in the maximum degree of penile rigidity was seen over time despite a constant level of reported daytime erectile function. We conclude that although penile rigidity is one of the more important variables in the assessment of male erectile dysfunction and can be measured reliably, the instability of maximum rigidity during sleep-related erections suggests that it is, at best, an imprecise correlate of daytime erectile function.

Authors+Show Affiliations

Nofzinger EA
Sleep and Chronobiology Center, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Pennsylvania 15213.
Fasiczka AL
No affiliation info available
Thase ME
No affiliation info available
Reynolds CF
No affiliation info available
Frank E
No affiliation info available
Jennings JR
No affiliation info available
Garamoni GL
No affiliation info available
Matzzie JV
No affiliation info available
Kupfer DJ
No affiliation info available

MeSH

HumansMalePenile ErectionReproducibility of ResultsSleep

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Language

eng

PubMed ID

8446836

Citation

Nofzinger, E A., et al. "Are Buckling Force Measurements Reliable in Nocturnal Penile Tumescence Studies?" Sleep, vol. 16, no. 2, 1993, pp. 156-62.
Nofzinger EA, Fasiczka AL, Thase ME, et al. Are buckling force measurements reliable in nocturnal penile tumescence studies? Sleep. 1993;16(2):156-62.
Nofzinger, E. A., Fasiczka, A. L., Thase, M. E., Reynolds, C. F., Frank, E., Jennings, J. R., Garamoni, G. L., Matzzie, J. V., & Kupfer, D. J. (1993). Are buckling force measurements reliable in nocturnal penile tumescence studies? Sleep, 16(2), 156-62.
Nofzinger EA, et al. Are Buckling Force Measurements Reliable in Nocturnal Penile Tumescence Studies. Sleep. 1993;16(2):156-62. PubMed PMID: 8446836.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - Are buckling force measurements reliable in nocturnal penile tumescence studies? AU - Nofzinger,E A, AU - Fasiczka,A L, AU - Thase,M E, AU - Reynolds,C F,3rd AU - Frank,E, AU - Jennings,J R, AU - Garamoni,G L, AU - Matzzie,J V, AU - Kupfer,D J, PY - 1993/2/1/pubmed PY - 1993/2/1/medline PY - 1993/2/1/entrez SP - 156 EP - 62 JF - Sleep JO - Sleep VL - 16 IS - 2 N2 - The study of nocturnal penile tumescence (NPT) is frequently used to evaluate male erectile dysfunction. Buckling force, a measure of rigidity, is an important part of this evaluation, but its reliability is unknown. Accordingly, we studied the reliability of buckling force measurement and the stability of "maximum buckling force" between consecutive NPT series repeated in the same subject. For individual subjects, we correlated buckling forces for separate episodes of sleep-related tumescence that were of comparable fullness (0-100%) as rated by a technician's visual estimates. For healthy control subjects, test-retest correlations were > 0.8 both within-night and across study series separated by an average of 70 weeks. In depressed men, correlations within nights were > 0.9, but fell to 0.64 across study series separated by an average of 21 weeks. Despite the high reliability of buckling force measurement, we found little stability of "maximum buckling force" between NPT series for individual subjects. Considerable variability in the maximum degree of penile rigidity was seen over time despite a constant level of reported daytime erectile function. We conclude that although penile rigidity is one of the more important variables in the assessment of male erectile dysfunction and can be measured reliably, the instability of maximum rigidity during sleep-related erections suggests that it is, at best, an imprecise correlate of daytime erectile function. SN - 0161-8105 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/8446836/Are_buckling_force_measurements_reliable_in_nocturnal_penile_tumescence_studies DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -