Alprostadil: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Alprostadil is a prostaglandin analog sold in the U.S. under 4 brand and generic names, for aortic arch syndromes, aortic coarctation and patent ductus arteriosus. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Drug class
- Prostaglandin Analog
- Treats (across its forms)
- Aortic Arch Syndromes, Aortic Coarctation and Patent Ductus Arteriosus
- Available as
- Suppository · Injectable
- Sold as
- 4 products — Muse, Caverject and Caverject Impulse, and others
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Not in our catalog
- Boxed warning
- Boxed warning
How Caverject Impulse is dosed
From the FDA label for Caverject Impulse (application NDA021212). Other alprostadil products — different forms, different strengths — are dosed differently. Follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Determine the most suitable dose and presentation of CAVERJECT to use. Use a new syringe for each dose of CAVERJECT ( 2.1 ). • Administer first intracavernosal injections in the health care provider’s office and titrate the dose for each patient to the lowest effective dose ( 2.1 ). • Instruct the patient on proper use and assess that they are well trained in the self-injection technique prior to initiation of at-home use ( 2.1 ). • Recommended dosage for erectile dysfunction ( 2.2 ): o Erectile dysfunction of vasculogenic, psychogenic, or mixed etiology: Initiate dosing with 2.5 mcg o Erectile dysfunction of pure neurogenic etiology (spinal cord injury): Initiate dosing with 1.25 mcg • Follow dose titration procedures for each type of erectile dysfunction and determine the maintenance dosage for patient home use in the health care provider’s office ( 2.2 ). • The recommended frequency of injection is no more than 3 times weekly, with at least 24 hours between each dose ( 2.2 ). • While on self-injection treatment, the patient should visit the prescribing health care provider’s office every 3 months to assess the efficacy and safety of the therapy ( 2.1 ). • Follow procedure for CAVERJECT IMPULSE syringe preparation ( 2.3 ). • Follow the procedure for CAVERJECT IMPULSE administration ( 2.4 ). • To diagnose erectile dysfunction (pharmacologic testing), inject CAVERJECT IMPULSE…
Everything below is the FDA label for Caverject Impulse (injectable). Alprostadil is also sold as suppository, and those are different medicines to take — follow the label for the one you were prescribed.
Caverject Impulse side effects
The following are discussed in more detail in other sections of the labeling: • Prolonged Erection and Priapism [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] • Penile Fibrosis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] Most common (≥10%) adverse reactions: penile pain ( 6.1 ). To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Pfizer at (1-800-438-1985 and www.pfizer.com ) or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or http://www.fda.gov/medwatch . 6.1 Clinical Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in clinical practice. CAVERJECT IMPULSE was evaluated in 87 patients in an open-label crossover study of 6 weeks treatment duration that compared the formulation of alprostadil for injection contained in CAVERJECT IMPULSE with the formulation contained in CAVERJECT. Doses used in this study ranged from 2.5 mcg to 20 mcg. Adverse reactions reported for the CAVERJECT IMPULSE formulation included: penis disorder (4.6%), prolonged erection (1.1%), injection site erythema (1.1%), rash (1.1%), dizziness (1.1%), and hematospermia (1.1%). Penis disorder included penile pain, post-injection pain, and pain with erection. CAVERJECT IMPULSE was also evaluated in 63 patients in a single-dose,…
Who shouldn’t take Caverject Impulse
CAVERJECT IMPULSE is contraindicated: • in men who have a known hypersensitivity to the drug [see Adverse Reactions (6.1) ] • in men who have conditions that predispose them to priapism, such as sickle cell anemia or sickle cell trait, multiple myeloma, or leukemia [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] • for the treatment of erectile dysfunction in men with fibrotic conditions of the penis, such as anatomical deformation, angulation, cavernosal fibrosis, or Peyronie's disease [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] • in men with penile implants. • Known hypersensitivity to the drug ( 4 ). • Men who have conditions that predispose them to priapism, such as sickle cell anemia or sickle cell trait, multiple myeloma, or leukemia ( 4 ). • Treatment of erectile dysfunction in men with fibrotic conditions of the penis, such as anatomical deformation, angulation, cavernosal fibrosis, or Peyronie's disease ( 4 ). • Men with penile implants ( 4 ).
Caverject Impulse drug interactions
The potential for pharmacokinetic drug-drug interactions between alprostadil and other agents administered orally or intracavernosally has not been formally studied [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6) ] .
Every alprostadil product we track (4)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 70/100 | Prescription | Suppository | No data | — | View → | |
| 2 | 64/100 | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → | |
| 3 | 64/100 | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → | |
| 4 | 64/100 | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → |
Alprostadil recalls
From the FDA Enforcement database. A recall covers specific lots — not the drug as a whole.
What people report to the FDA about alprostadil
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 1,787 reports naming alprostadil, and the FDA flagged 91% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- haemoglobin decreased86 reports
- lymphocyte count decreased85 reports
- pyrexia82 reports
- diarrhoea79 reports
- cardiac failure65 reports
- anaemia63 reports
- blood urea increased62 reports
- pneumonia59 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean alprostadil caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label section above.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved July 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
What is Caverject Impulse?
Caverject Impulse (Alprostadil) is a prostaglandin analog used to treat Aortic Arch Syndromes, Aortic Coarctation, Patent Ductus Arteriosus, Pulmonary Hypertension.
What kind of drug is alprostadil?
The FDA classifies alprostadil as a prostaglandin analog. Prostaglandin analogs (used as eye drops for glaucoma) activate FP receptors that relax the eye's drainage tissues, helping fluid flow out more easily. This lowers the pressure inside the eye and protects the optic nerve. If you are checking whether it is safe to combine with something else, the class is what matters — two drugs from the same class usually should not be stacked.
Can you take alprostadil with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run alprostadil against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is alprostadil sold under?
We track 4 alprostadil-containing products in the U.S.: Muse, Caverject, Caverject Impulse and Prostin Vr Pediatric. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does alprostadil come in?
Across the brands we track, alprostadil is currently marketed as suppository and injectable, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic alprostadil?
We do not currently list a generic-labelled alprostadil product. That does not always mean none exists — it means none appears under a generic name in the FDA data we track. Ask your pharmacist.
Has alprostadil been recalled?
The FDA's Enforcement database lists 1 recall record whose product description mentions alprostadil. The most recent: Alprostadil Container Description: Amber color bottle (Feb 7, 2025). A recall applies to specific lots, not to the drug as a whole — check the record for the affected lot numbers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Alprostadil: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/alprostadil
- MLA
- “Alprostadil: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/alprostadil.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for alprostadil on DailyMed (NIH) ↗ — including its boxed warning in full.