The post-investigation questionnaire (PIO-R): a practical instrument to assess erectile response after intracavernous...

Erectile response to intracavernous pharmacological stimulation is highly susceptible to stress and anxiety provoked by the test-situation. To reduce false-positive diagnosis of veno-occlusive dysfunction and to limit the need for high-dosage pharmacotesting, we developed the Post-Investigation Questionnaire (PIQ-R), a self-report instrument to assess erectile response to pharmacological stimulation after the patient has left the office. In this study veno-occlusive sufficiency was not demonstrated in 80 of 105 patients with erectile dysfunction at the time of pharmaco-penile duplex ultrasonography. PIQ-R detected sufficient erectile response in 40 of these patients, thus reducing false-positive diagnosis of veno-occlusive dysfunction by 50%. We also found that reports of sexual activity after investigation increased interest in auto-injection therapy. PIQ-R is a practical self-report measure to assess erectile response after clinical pharmacotesting, and to more carefully select patients for auto-injection therapy.