The impact of transrectal prostate biopsy on erectile function

Objective: To assess erectile function at different periods of time in patients who undergo transrectal prostate biopsy (TRPB).

Material and methods: A total of 364 patients underwent TRPB. All of the patients were assessed using the International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5). All patients with a positive result for cancer or with previous erectile dysfunction in the initial assessment were excluded. Ninety-three patients were included and were assessed before the biopsy and at 4, 12 and 24 weeks after the TRPB, using the IIEF-5 and assessing erectile function across these time periods.

Results: We assessed 93 patients. During the first prebiopsy assessment, 100% of the patients scored ≥22 points. In the first postbiopsy evaluation at 4 weeks, 66.6% scored ≥ 22 points, and 33.3% had erectile dysfunction, thereby indicating a statistically significant reduction in the IIEF-5 score (P=.001). In the second postbiopsy evaluation, only 9.1% patients still had mild to moderate erectile dysfunction (P=.04). By the end, 92.48% of the patients scored ≥ 22 points, and 7.52% still had mild erectile dysfunction, without presenting a significant difference (P=.1).

Conclusions: After a TRPB, the drop in IIEF-5 scores and the presence of erectile dysfunction are temporary and transient, with greater impairment during the first month following the procedure and improvement starting after the first month, with almost total recovery at 6 months.