A prospective long-term follow-up study of patients evaluated for erectile dysfunction: outcome and associated factors.

The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term outcome of erectile dysfunction (ED) assessed in a routine clinical setting. The original population consisted of 209 patients who were consecutively referred to either the Urology Clinic or the Sexual Dysfunction Clinic of a University Hospital. At follow-up, 22 patients had died and 32 could not be found. Of the remaining 155, 107 (69%) patients participated in the study. The mean follow-up period was 4.1 years. Of these, 21 had had a prosthesis implanted, 34 had received self-injection therapy. 31 had sex therapy and 28 patients had not received any treatment. Overall, the rate of penetration increased, whereas coital frequency did not change. Despite the fact that sexual functioning in terms of penetration rate improved, more than of the patients reported that they were dissatisfied with the overall quality of their sex-lives.