Management Of Erectile Dysfunction In Diabetic Subjects: Results From A Survey Of 400 Diabetes Centres In Italy

We report the results of a survey on erectile dysfunction (ED) conducted in 400 Italian Diabetes Centres in 1998. A questionnaire consisting of 10 items was sent to the Centres recorded by the Italian Association of Diabetologists and the Italian Society of Diabetology; 400 Centres returned the completed questionnaire (58%). Forty-nine percent of the Centres declared that they investigated ED systematically but less than half of them (46%) had done it autonomously. The percentage of Centres performing intracavernous injection (ICI) was 84%. This maneuvre was most commonly performed by diabetologists (61 %), followed by urologists (29%) and and rologists (18%) (categories are not mutually exclusive). ICI was also the most common type of treatment (85 %), followed by oral (32 %) and topic (7 %) therapies (categories are not mutually exclusive). Slightly more than half of the interviewed Centres (51 %) did not investigate ED routinely, attributing this to structural problems, lack of specific training and the availability of more specialised Centres as the main reasons for this. However, the majority of Centres expressed interest in managing ED. Among the available tests for ED, ICI was the most frequently employed. While most Centres seek the collaboration of external specialists to diagnose ED, the diabetologist is the physician who most frequently performs ICI. We conclude that Italian diabetologists need specific training to reach a greater degree of autonomy in the management of ED in their patients. (C) 2001, Editrice Kurtis.