Effects of renal transplantation on erectile dysfunction: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a major global health burden commonly observed in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Although renal transplantation improves the problem in some patients, it persists in ≈20–50% of recipients. Studies regarding the effects of kidney transplantation on ED present contradictory findings. We performed a systematic review to summarise the effects of kidney transplantation on ED. A systematic literature search was performed across PubMed, Cochrane, and Scopus databases in April 2020. We included all prospective studies that investigated the pre and posttransplant international index of erectile function (IIEF-5) scores in recipients with ED. Data search in PubMed and Google Scholar produced 1326 articles; eight were systematically reviewed with a total of 448 subjects. Meta-analysis of IIEF-5 scores showed significant improvements between pre and post transplantation. Our findings confirm that renal transplantation improves erectile function. Furthermore, transplantation also increases testosterone level. However, the evidence is limited because of the small number of studies. Further studies are required to investigate the effects of renal transplantation on erectile function.