Is It Compulsory to Investigate for Erectile Dysfunction in Patients Presenting for Low Urinary Tract Symptoms?

Current European Association of Urology guidelines suggest investigation of erectile dysfunction (ED) among patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) whenever there is a clinical suspicion.

To assess factors predictive of ED, which may drive the need for a clinical assessment in men only presenting for LUTS.

Data from 914 men presenting for LUTS at a single-center outpatient clinic and without a previous diagnosis of ED were analyzed.

All patients completed the International Prostatic Symptom Score (IPSS) and the International Index of Erectile Function-erectile function (IIEF-EF) questionnaires.

Logistic regression analyses tested potential predictors of ED and severe ED. The accuracy of the predictive models was assessed, and decision curve analyses (DCAs) tested their clinical benefit.

The median baseline IPSS score was 12 (7-19). IIEF-EF scores suggestive of unreported ED were observed in 503 (55%) patients; of all, 251 (27%) men showed severe ED. At logistic regression analysis, age (odds ratio [OR]: 1.04; p<0.001), IPSS score (OR: 1.04; p<0.001), diabetes mellitus (OR: 2.37; p=0.02), and smoking history (OR 1.36; p=0.03) were associated with unreported ED, after accounting for body mass index, hypertension, other cardiovascular diseases, and dyslipidemia. The same factors were associated with severe ED (all p≤0.03). The predictive model including these variables showed good accuracy for predicting ED (areas under the curve 0.69 and 0.72, respectively). However, DCAs showed no greater clinical benefit regarding identifying which patients should actually be screened for ED using these variables versus screening all patients with LUTS. Conversely, the net clinical benefit of the tested model was higher when predicting severe ED. As a limitation, we could not check prospectively the clinical impact of detecting ED in LUTS patients.

Given the importance of ED in terms of overall men's health, segregating patients to be investigated or not for ED according to the traditional risk factors did not emerge more clinically useful than screening all patients presenting for LUTS.

Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are frequently associated with erectile dysfunction (ED). Patients presenting for LUTS only in the everyday clinical practice should always be screened for ED and managed accordingly.