The effect of erectile dysfunction on the quality of life of men after radical prostatectomy

To report on the first use of a quality-of-life (QoL) measure specific for erectile dysfunction (ED), the 'ED effect on QoL' (ED-EQoL), to assess the effect of ED on QoL after radical prostatectomy (RP).

We retrospectively identified 89 patients who had undergone RP at one institution. Each was sent the ED-EQoL and a second questionnaire asking whether they had been counselled before RP about possible ED afterward.

The response rate was 91% and the median time since RP 92 months; 76% of those who were potent before RP were impotent afterward. The overall results showed that the QoL of 72% of patients was moderately or severely affected. For each question, on average a third of the patients reported that their QoL was affected either 'quite a lot' or 'a great deal'.

This study shows that ED after RP has a profound effect on QoL; it is therefore important when assessing ED to use an ED-specific QoL questionnaire such as the ED-EQoL to measure the psychosocial effect of ED, in addition to using an instrument such as the International Index of Erectile Function to measure the functional aspects of ED.