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Side Effects

Like many prescription medications, CAVERJECT has some side effects:

An erection that lasts more than 4 hours is dangerous. If this happens to you, see a doctor right away. Without treatment, there could be lasting damage to the penis. You may lose potency.

The most common side effect is pain:

37% of men reported pain in the penis, at least once, after injection

  • It was usually mild to moderate
  • Only 3% of men in a study stopped using CAVERJECT (alprostadil for injection) for this reason

Other side effects include:

  • Small amount of bleeding where the shot is given. This increases the risk of passing on diseases carried in blood, such as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus)
  • Small bumps or hard tissue in the penis
  • Infection. With any shot, there is a risk of infection
  • Low blood pressure and dizziness may be observed at higher doses

Precautions:

  • Treatment with CAVERJECT should be discontinued in patients who develop penile angulation, cavernosal fibrosis, or Peyronie’s disease.
  • Use of CAVERJECT offers no protection from the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases.


CAVERJECT is used to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) due to neurogenic, vasculogenic, psychogenic, or mixed etiology.


Important Safety Information

CAVERJECT should not be used in men hypersensitive to alprostadil, men with conditions that may predispose them to priapism (such as sickle cell anemia or trait, multiple myeloma or leukemia), men with anatomical deformities of the penis (such as angulation, cavernosal fibrosis or Peyronie’s disease), men with penile implants, or men for whom sexual activity is inadvisable or is contraindicated.

CAVERJECT should not be used in women, children or newborns.

Patients should be instructed to immediately report to his physician any erection lasting 4 hours or longer. If unavailable, patient must seek immediate medical assistance.

CAVERJECT can cause penile fibrosis or Peyronie’s disease.

Use of Caverject in patients who take anticoagulants, such as warfarin or heparin, should be with precaution as they may have increased tendency for bleeding after Caverject injections.

The most common side effect of CAVERJECT® (alprostadil for injection) was penile pain, reported by 37% of patients in clinical studies. Other side effects were prolonged erection, penile fibrosis and injection site hematoma. To lower the risk of prolonged erections or priapism, Caverject should be titrated slowly to the lowest effective dose.

For Full Prescribing and Patient Information for CAVERJECT®, please click here.