Evaluation of Erectile Dysfunction in Spinal Cord Injured Patients
2 S.B. 70. Yıl İstanbul Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi 1. Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Kliniği, İstanbul
3 İstanbul Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Eğitim Araştırma Hastanesi, İstanbul, Türkiye
4 Istanbul Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Training Hospital, 1st Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic, Istanbul, Turkey DOI : 10.4274/tftr.56.71
Objective: Spinal cord injuries affect sexual function and cause problems in erection, ejaculation, orgasm and fertility; erectile dysfunction is the most important one. The aim of this study is to evaluate the erectile dysfunction seen after spinal cord injury.
Materials and Method: Sixty male patients with spinal cord injury, 20 above the level of T10, 20 between T11 and L2, 20 with conus/cauda equina lesions were included in this study. The patients were evaluated according to the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA); 2002 standards of neurological examination and classification and they were interviewed by the same doctor for erectile dysfunction and type of erection. Erectile dysfunction was also assessed by the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF).
Results: Erectile dysfunction was observed in 85% of patients. Seventy-three percent of patients was found to have mild-severe erectile dysfunction according to the IIEF. Type of erection was associated with the level of the injury.
Conclusion: Spinal cord injury usually affects young men; life expectancy for this group is getting longer, nearly reaching that of the normal population. Sexual and erectile dysfunctions are common among these patients. Better results can be achieved in rehabilitation of this group by paying attention to this problem.
Keywords : Spinal cord injury, erectile dysfunction, sexual dysfunction, IIEF-ED