148 Trazodone Pre-treatment Screening and Side Effects Counseling at a Single Veterans Affairs Hospital

Priapism is a urologic emergency defined as a prolonged, painful erection lasting greater than 4 hours, not usually initiated by sexual stimuli or desire. There are a variety of risk factors for priapism, including the use of antipsychotics such as trazodone, and having a history of prolonged erections. There are several reports in the literature of trazodone use leading to both prolonged erections and priapism, but patients are often not counseled on these well-known side effects. We sought to determine if prior to trazadone treatment patients were properly screened and appropriately counseled on trazodone side effects, the prevalence of prolonged erections with using trazodone and how frequently patients will report side effects. To evaluate whether patients were appropriately counseled about trazodone complications regarding prolonged erections and priapism prior to starting the medication, the incidence of prolonged erections in those taking trazodone and the rate of patient reported events of prolonged erection to their prescribing physicians.