Max and average flow rate are correlated with severity of erectile dysfunction on men with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia

Abstract Introduction Numerous cross-sectional epidemiological studies have reported a clear and clinically significant association between lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and erectile dysfunction (ED) in aging men worldwide. Objective We aimed to investigate the severity of ED symptoms with flow rate specifically Methods All patients came to our urology clinic, complaining of LUTS for at least 3 months were prospectively included in this study, in one year. Complete medical history including international index of erectile function (IIEF-5) and international prostate symptom score (IPSS) questionnaires, physical examination and comorbidity profile were collected. Patients were stratified according to IIEF-5 score into 4 groups: no or mild ED, mild to moderate ED, moderate ED and sever ED. Standard urofowmetry test was done, and prostate size was calculated through transrectal ultrasound (TRUS). Patients with middle lobe, urethral stricture and previous lower urinary tract surgery were excluded from the study. Database was done with Microsoft Excel and statistical analysis was done by SPSS software. Results 166 patients had complete data and were included in this analysis. The mean age was 57,and 26% were diabetic. When running Kruskal-Wallis Test it, showed that there is a statistical difference between the groups, the lower is the IIEF score (sever ED), the lower is the max flow rate (P<0.049) and the average flow rate (P<0.025). There was an inverse correlation between max flow rate and Prostate volume, the bigger is the prostate the lower tend to be the max flow rate (p<0.000), and same for average flow rate (P<0.001). There was a slight but significant (P<0.006) increase in severity of ED with the increase in prostate volume. The older were the patients the worse is the ED and the worse the flow rate (p<0.000). The flow rate was neither correlated with dyslipidemia nor with BMI. Conclusions Flow rate is correlated with severity of ED symptoms and prostate volume. Disclosure No