Treatment of Delayed Ejaculation

Delayed ejaculation (DE), although relatively rare, can be a disconcerting and challenging disorder for patients to live with and physicians to treat. In this review, we sought to summarize what is currently known about the treatment for DE and aimed to summarize the findings using a holistic approach. We reviewed the most current medical literature to gather an understanding of the interventions currently available for DE and attempted to find a potential solution for patients struggling with DE. A number of articles are cited from 2016, 2018, and 2020, three of which are review articles. In this review, the psychosocial and infertility factors related to DE are covered briefly, and the current pharmacologic agents used to treat DE are reviewed. More recently, the anti-obesity drug, lorcaserin (a 5-HT2C receptor agonist), was explored for the first time in the context of treating DE. This study produced promising results that were published in 2020. There is still much that is unknown pertaining to the treatment of DE. Some drug treatments for DE have potential, although many require further research. A holistic approach is necessary for the patient with DE, including careful consideration of the psychosocial factors related to DE. Many of the reviewed drugs for DE have been used for the treatment of DE arising from various potential etiologies (such as antidepressant-induced DE, hypogonadism, hyperprolactinemia, etc.). Ultimately, the etiology of DE in each patient must be carefully considered and treatment must be individualized.