Local and Systemic Complications of Local Testosterone Patches and Gels
Fahad Ahmed Alzahrani *
Department of Urology, East Jeddah Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Areej Ibrahim Aziaby
Deparment of Pharmacy, King Khalid Hospital, Najran, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed Abdulaziz Alkhalifah
Department of Urology, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Abdalkarim Ahmed Alalsheikhahmed
Emergency Medical Service, Alrafee’ah General Hospital, Alrafee’ah, Saudi Arabia.
Rawa Mohammed Aldosari
College of Medicine, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed Khamis Albalawi
Department of Emergency Medicine, King Abdulaziz Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Mohammad Mabrook Almohammadi
Department of Urology, King Abduallah Medical Complex, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Alaa Bakheet Alzahrani
College of Medicine, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.
Ghassan Mohammedzaki Damanhori
Department of Emergency Medicine, King Abdulaziz Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Eman Abdulaziz Alaswami
College of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
Mohammed Khaled Almutairy
College of Medicine, Almaarefa University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In recent decades, testosterone therapy has gained the attention of many researchers due to the increased demand for this modality worldwide, the increased average age of the different populations, and increased awareness of the potential uses of the modality in clinical settings. Using testosterone therapy aims to treat erectile dysfunction, libido disorders, and potentially enhance physical strength and general body functions. It should be noted that the administration of this treatment modality has been reported with various adverse outcomes despite the remarkable efficacy and wide rates of administration among the different populations. In the present literature review, we have discussed the potential local and systemic complications of applying local testosterone patches and gel. The main advesre events that were reported for both formulas have been skin reactions at the site of application. However, these reactions are not usually serious, and only a few patients discontinued the therapy due to these reactions. In general, evidence indicates that the exogenous administration of testosterone has been associated with many systemic complications as cardiovascular diseases, prostate cancer, obstructive sleep apnea, and elevated hematocrite value. However, evidence regarding this association is still controversial, and additional studies are needed for verfication.
Keywords: Testosterone, transdermal, patches, gel, treatment, hypogondism, complications, adverse events