Defining potency: A comparison of the International Index of Erectile Function short version and the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite

Abstract

BACKGROUND.Both the 5‐item short version of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF‐5) and the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) have been used to assess erectile function. In this study, the authors compared various definitions of potency according to the IIEF‐5 and the EPIC.METHODS.Patients with prostate cancer who had completed the IIEF‐5 and the EPIC within 7 days of each other were included. The Spearman correlation coefficient (rho) was calculated to assess the relation between IIEF‐5 and EPIC sexual domain scores. Concordance of potency rates by IIEF‐5 and EPIC was assessed in cross‐tabulations. By calculating the area under the receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve (AUC), the authors ascertained the discriminative ability of the IIEF‐5 score to identify potent men as defined by the EPIC.RESULTS.Analyzing 102 questionnaire pairs, IIEF‐5 and EPIC domain scores were found to be highly correlated (rho = 0.776). EPIC sexual domain scores ≥60 had high concordance with IIEF‐5 scores ≥17 (98%) and with nearly all single‐item definitions of potency (≥71%). However, an EPIC sexual domain score ≥80 was a very strict definition of potency, and only 54% of patients with IIEF‐5 scores ≥22 met this threshold. On the basis of ROC analysis (AUC = 0.90), an IIEF‐5 score ≥20 was identified as the ideal cutoff for defining potency and corresponded with an EPIC sexual domain score ≥60.CONCLUSIONS.IIEF‐5 and EPIC scores were highly correlated, but potency rates varied widely, depending on the definition of potency. The current results help with the interpretation of sexual function outcomes data in patients with prostate cancer. Cancer 2008. © 2008 American Cancer Society.

Critical appraisal of outcomes following open radical prostatectomy

“…Regardless of nerve-sparing techniques or therapies, men who had erections scored higher in terms of sexual health. But attaining an erection sufficient for intercourse does not always correlate with high sexual health domain scores, as outlined by Schroeck et al [39 ]. They compared a number of definitions for erectile dysfunction and found that an Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) score more than 60 and an International Index on Erectile Function (IIEF) score more than 20 correlated highly with sexual function and should be used to define erectile dysfunction in future studies.…”

Radical Prostatectomy and Active Surveillance in Prostate Cancer; The Evaluation of Erectile Function and Depression

“…AUA prostat kanser kılavuz paneli 2007 yılındaki çalışmalarında, prostat kanserinde küratif tedavi sonrasındaki erektil işlevin geçerliliği gösteril-miş yeni anketler ile değerlendirilmesini ve tedavi öncesi erektil işlevlerin mutlaka belirtilmesini önermiştir [23]. Schroeck ve arkadaşları da [24] IIEF skorunun 20 den fazla olmasının cinsel işlevin varlığının göstergesi olduğu ve daha sonraki çalışmalar-da bunun kullanılması gerektiğini belirtmişlerdir. Biz de çalışma-mızda erektil işlev durumunu IIEF ile değerlendirerek işlev kaybı ve Beck depresyon skorları ve uygulanan tedaviler arasında fark olup olmadığını da gözden geçirdik.…”

Concordance in the perception of couples recovering from primary surgical treatment of prostate cancer

“…Based on the post-treatment median IIEF-5 score (16.0, range: 6-21) and median total FSFI score at the time of survey response (26.3, range: 2.8-34), we know that both the men and women had some degree of sexual dysfunction as indicated by their score below 20 and 26.55, respectively. 22,23 If the recovering male believes the sexual aspect of the relationship is extremely important but his partner does not, he may feel an unjustified amount of pressure in the relationship to recover. As recovery is not a matter of will alone and stress has been linked to decreased sexual performance, recovery and self-worth may be affected if continually under the impression of disappointing his partner.…”