[Assessment of the erectile function and patients' perception of improvement in Spanish patients with erectile dysfunction].

Objective: This study has been carried out to assess the hardness of erection and the perception of improvement in erectile function with the treatments received during the last month.

Material And Method: Descriptive, observational, multicenter, cross-sectional study carried out in 30 urology sites in Spain. Patients diagnosed of erectile dysfunction receiving treatment during at least the last month have been enrolled. Hardness of erection has been assessed with the erection hardness score and improvement perception has been estimated with the global assessment question.

Results: A 63% of patients had a hardness of erection that was insufficient for penetration, but 75% of patients referred that their erectile function had improved with treatment. After adjustment for other factors, erection hardness score values were not significantly different among patients being treated with alprostadil topical cream, compared to patients being treated with the combination of phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors plus alprostadil topical cream or with PDE5i other than sildenafil alone. However, patients treated with alprostadil topical cream had a significantly higher chance of referring an improvement in their erectile function compared to patients treated with PDE5i, despite the fact that they had received treatment for a shorter period of time.

Conclusion: Hardness of erection is just another factor of erectile function, but it is not the only one influencing improvement perception by patients.