Diagnostic tests for male erectile dysfunction revisited. Committee Consensus Report of the International Consultation in Sexual Medicine

Abstract

Introduction: The Committee on "Clinical Evaluation and Scales in Sexual Medicine" of the third International Consultation in Sexual Medicine reviewed current practice and new developments in the field of physiological testing in male erectile dysfunction (ED).

Aim: To provide an overview of current practice and new developments in the field of diagnostic testing in male ED.

Methods: The Pubmed literature was reviewed.

Results: Since the 1980s of the last century, a broad array of specialized physiological tests has been used for assessing ED. The notion that ED often is an (early) symptom of generalized cardiovascular disease and the introduction of oral pharmacological therapies that are effective irrespective of etiology has reduced the application of the "classical" tests to a minimum and has shifted the scope toward tests with demonstrated reliability in cardiovascular medicine.

Conclusions: (i) The clinical utility of specialized tests in the evaluation of male ED is limited to a small minority of men; (ii) the scope of physiological testing has shifted toward tests with demonstrated reliability in cardiovascular medicine.