Background: Erectile dysfunction [ED] can impact the quality of life. Thus, it is crucial to know the erectile function in patients who underwent cardiac surgery.

Objective: To investigate the factors influencing ED in the patients with cardiac surgery.

Materials and Methods: A one-year follow-up study of patients that underwent cardiopulmonary bypass [CPB] in Phramongkutklao Hospital was conducted. A self-administered questionnaire including International Index of Erectile Function [IIEF]-5 was provided and collected at preoperative, 6-, and 12-month postoperative periods. Discrete variables were analyzed by Chi-square test and continuous variables were analyzed by paired or unpaired t-test. Statistical significance was defined as p-value lower than 0.05.

Results: Three hundred thirty-three males (mean age 58.0±14.2) were enrolled. Of these, the procedures were performed as follow, 45% CABG, 6% CABG with valvular heart surgery, 41% valvular heart surgery, 3% congenital heart surgery, and 5% others. The prevalence of ED significantly decreased after the operation with the prevalence of 91.6%, 84.1%, and 79.5% at preoperative, 6-, and 12-month postoperative periods, respectively (p<0.001). The IIEF-5 score was significantly increased from 11.9±7.5 preoperatively to 12.7±7.9 and 13.2±8.3 at 6- and 12-month postoperative periods, respectively (p<0.05). Advanced age, smoking, alcohol consumption, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and β-blocker use were risk factors associated with ED. In contrast, the CPB and the aortic cross-clamping period were not associated with ED.

Conclusion: ED prevalence decreased after cardiac surgery possibly resulting from the improvement of the cardiac function and psychological and physical status after surgery.

Keywords: ED, Cardiac surgery, IIEF-5, CPB, Thailand