OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical value of Paroxetine combined with mid-frequency electrical pulse acupoint stimulation (EPAS) in the treatment of premature ejaculation (PE).

METHODSTotally 69 PE patients were equally assigned to receive oral Paroxetine 20 mg/d, mid-frequency EPAS, or oral Paroxetine 10 mg/d combined with mid-frequency EPAS (P + EPAS) , all for 8 weeks. We obtained the intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT) and Chinese Index of Premature Ejaculation (CIPE-5) scores of the patients before and after treatment, and compared adverse reactions among the three groups of patients.

RESULTSOne patient of the Paroxetine group gave up treatment because of abdominal pain and nausea. Compared with the baseline, the patients in the Paroxetine, EPAS, and P + EPAS groups all showed markedly increased IELT ([0.92 ± 0.11] vs [4.07 ± 0.11] min, P < 0.01; [0.92 ± 0.12] VS [2.78 ± 0.17] min P < 0.05; [0.91 ± 0.09] vs [5.31 ± 0.13], P < 0.01) and decreased CIPE-5 scores (12.5 ± 3.0 vs 22.0 ± 2.1, P < 0.01; 12.8 ± 2.9 vs 19.5 ± 1.9, P > 0.05; 13.1 ± 2.8 vs 25.2 ± 2.1, P 0.01), with statistically significant differences between the P + EPAS group and the other two (P < 0.05). The total effectiveness rate was 95.7% in the P + EPAS group, remarkably higher than in the Paroxetine (72.7%, P < 0.05) and the EPAS group (47.8, P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONOral Paroxetine combined with mid-frequency EPAS has a higher safety and efficacy than either Paroxetine or EPAS alone in the treatment of PE.