Improvement of erectile dysfunction after kidney transplantation the role of the associated factors

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to evaluate erectile dysfunction [ED] in hemodialysis patients and the factors influencing ED after a successful kidney transplantation. A total of 64 patients on hemodialysis were evaluated before and 6 months after the kidney transplantation. They were all recipients of their first kidney allografts from living unrelated donors and had a functional kidney allograft during the follow-up. The 5-item version of the International Index of Erectile Function [IIEF-5] was used to assess their erectile function. A group of age-matched controls were compared with them before transplantation. The effects of pretransplant IIEF-5 score, age at transplantation, the artery used for anastomosis, and duration of the dialysis prior to transplantation on ED were also studied. Fifty-six of the patients [87.5%] and 23 of the controls [35.9%] had ED [P < .001]. The prevalence of ED was 87.5% in the hemodialysis patients. There was no relationship between the duration of dialysis and the severity of ED. Successful transplantation improved IIEF-5 score significantly [13.6 +/- 5.2 before and 19.2 +/- 5.0 after transplantation; P < .001]. Based on the IIEF-5 scores, the severity of ED increased in 6 [9.4%] patients; 8 [12.5%] experienced no change in their erectile function; and 50 [78.1%] reported an improved erectile function. Preoperative IIEF-5 score and age at transplantation had statistically significant associations with ED improvement [P < .001; P = .02]. Erectile dysfunction is highly prevalent in hemodialysis patients and significantly improves after successful kidney transplantation. Younger patients with a less severe ED have the most improvement after transplantation