Erectile dysfunction (ED) has detrimental social and psychological effects on the quality of life of affected individuals and their sexual partners. When medical intervention is introduced to treat ED, physicians, nurses, and clinical educators should consider this disorder as a shared health problem for the men with ED and their sexual partners.
New therapeutics such as phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors improve erectile function in affected men, and the ultimate goal of medical intervention for ED should be achievement of a satisfactory sex life for couples engaged sexual relationships. Sexual partners of men with ED have an important role in its management and improvement in quality of sex life; therefore, they should be involved in assessment of, diagnosis, education, counselling, and choice of therapy. This sexual- partner-engaged approach might assist treatment and rehabilitation, helping the couples affected by ED to achieve a high-quality sex life.
Nature reviews. Urology. 2016 Feb 02 [Epub ahead of print]
Hongjun Li, Tiejun Gao, Run Wang
Department of Urology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100730, China. , Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, The University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2R3, Canada. , Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, Texas 77030, USA.