Does erectile dysfunction develop following COVID-19 infection?

Abstract

Purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a disease that can affect many of our organs, and its effects on the human body are still unknown. In this study, we aimed to find the answer to the question of whether erectile dysfunction (ED) develops in patients who had COVID-19. Materials and Methods: This is a prospective study of 459 patients. Married male patients aged between 25 and 70 years and who were hospitalized and treated for COVID-19 were included in the study. The patients were divided into three groups as mild, moderate, and severe cases, according to the extent of the disease. Each patient was asked to complete the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) upon admission and 45th and 90th days after discharge. Admission, 45th and 90th values of IIEF were compared within itself. Results: Statistically significant differences were observed in the IIEF evaluations on admission and 45th and 90th days of the patients in the three groups. IIEF values of three patient groups displayed a decrease on the 45th day with respect to admission, while the 90th day values were higher in comparison to 45th day, although still remained lower than the values of admission. Evaluation of the erectile function values of the patients revealed that IIEF values on admission decreased on 45th and 90th day values. Conclusions: We determined that COVID-19 affected IIEF values in male patients, which might cause ED by reducing erectile function values.