{"id":28433,"date":"2020-02-06T08:00:25","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T08:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/?p=28433"},"modified":"2020-02-12T20:06:49","modified_gmt":"2020-02-12T20:06:49","slug":"how-well-does-the-iief-help-diagnose-ed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/erectile-dysfunction\/how-well-does-the-iief-help-diagnose-ed\/","title":{"rendered":"How Well Does the IIEF Help Diagnose ED?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire is a fairly accurate tool for the diagnosis of erectile dysfunction, but as presently constituted it offers little indication of the specific cause of impotence.<\/em><\/p>\n

Even a casual follower of medical research into erectile dysfunction, its causes, and possible treatments can\u2019t miss seeing references to IIEF, a widely used gauge of male sexual function.<\/p>\n

Short for International Index of Erectile Function<\/a>, IIEF is a self-administered set of 15 questions designed to help assess a man\u2019s ability to get and keep an erection suitable for intercourse. Also available in a shortened five-question format (IIEF-5<\/a>), the questionnaire is routinely given to study participants before and after clinical testing of experimental ED treatments.<\/p>\n

Other Aspects of Sexual Function<\/h3>\n

The full 15-question IIEF attempts to gauge not just the subject\u2019s erectile function but other aspects of the sexual experience as well. These include orgasmic function, sexual desire, intercourse satisfaction, and overall satisfaction. The five-question IIEF-5 focuses solely on erectile function.<\/p>\n

The lower a man\u2019s score on the IIEF questionnaire, the more likely he is to be suffering from some degree of ED. On the IIEF-5, each of the five questions has five possible responses, ranging in value from 1 to 5.<\/p>\n

A Sample IIEF-5 Question<\/h3>\n

As an example, the first of the IIEF-5\u2019s questions is \u201cHow do you rate your confidence that you could get and keep an erection?\u201d Possible responses are Very Low, worth 1; Low, worth 2; Moderate, worth 3; High, worth 4; and Very High, worth 5.<\/p>\n

Toting up a patient\u2019s score based on his responses to the five questions on the IIEF-5 questionnaire, a score of 1-7 is indicative of severe ED; 8-11 points to moderate ED; 12-16 suggests mild to moderate ED; 17-21 indicates mild ED; and 22-25 is indicative of no ED.<\/p>\n

While both forms of the IIEF questionnaire have been found to offer accurate assessments of a man\u2019s erectile function, neither questionnaire is found to offer any real insight into what condition is causing the unsatisfactory erectile performance.<\/p>\n

Findings of Chinese Study<\/h3>\n

In a study published in the July 2014 issue of BMC Urology<\/em><\/a>, a team of Chinese researchers looked at IIEF-5 scores of 3,327 impotent men whose ED stemmed from various causes, both physiological and psychological.<\/p>\n

While men with ED of psychological origin scored somewhat higher than men with ED of a physiological nature, researchers found no significant differences in scores between men of differing organic pathophysiologies. They concluded that, based on their data, \u201cIIEF-5 is not a definitive diagnostic tool to discriminate the pathophysiological causes of ED.\u201d<\/p>\n

Findings of Slovenian Study<\/h3>\n

Similar conclusions were reached by a team of Slovenian researchers who published their findings in the July 2018 issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine<\/em><\/a>. They suggested that future IIEF testing take into account such other defining factors as lifestyle, socioeconomic status, and existing comorbidities. For subjects with ED of a psychosexual nature, this additional information would help steer them to the proper form of therapy.<\/p>\n

Ordering ED Drugs Online<\/h3>\n

For many men diagnosed with ED of a physiological nature, Viagra and the other oral ED drugs known as PDE5 inhibitors offer temporary relief from their symptoms and a return to a relatively normal sex life. Ordering these drugs from eDrugstore.com might save you both time and money.<\/p>\n

Based in Tempe, Arizona, eDrugstore is an online prescription drug service that\u2019s been in operation since the late 1990s. It offers a full range of ED medications, including all brand-name and generic ED drugs. Its prices cover not just the medications you order but a host of added-value services as well. To learn more about those services, visit eDrugstore\u2019s Erectile Dysfunction page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire is a fairly accurate tool for the diagnosis of erectile dysfunction, but as presently constituted it offers little indication of the specific cause of impotence. Even a casual follower of medical research into erectile dysfunction, its causes, and possible treatments can\u2019t miss seeing references to IIEF, a widely […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28434,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-erectile-dysfunction"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t