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A possible mechanism of erectile dysfunction in coronavirus disease-19: Cavernosal smooth muscle damage: A pilot
Selman Unal1, Halil Uzundal1, Turker Soydas1
1Department of Urology, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
Introduction:
Studies have reported that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may cause erectile dysfunction (ED), however, its role in the pathophysiology of ED has not yet been fully elucidated. We aimed to elucidate COVID-19's effects on cavernosal smooth muscle, which has a pretty important role in erection physiology, by corpus cavernosum electromyography (cc-EMG).
Materials And Methods:
Twenty-nine male patients aged 20-50 years who applied to the urology outpatient clinic due to ED were included in the study. Nine patients that had COVID-19 and were treated as outpatients were classified as group 1, 10 patients who were hospitalized due to COVID-19 were classified as group 2, and 10 patients who did not have COVID-19 were classified as the control group (group 3). Patients underwent diagnostic evaluation including International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF)-5 form, penile color Doppler ultrasonography (CDUS), cc-EMG, and fasting serum levels of reproductive hormones (07-11am).
Results:
According to penile CDUS and hormonal values results, there was no significant difference between the groups. According to cc-EMG results, amplitudes and relaxation capacities of the cavernosal smooth muscle of patients in group 3 were significantly higher than those in the other groups.
Conclusions:
COVID-19 can cause ED not only by psychogenic and hormonal factors but also with cavernosal smooth muscle damage.
Clinical Trial Registration Number:
NCT04980508.
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