(052) A NOVEL PATIENT-COMPLETED CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE SCREENING INSTRUMENT FOR MEN PRESENTING WITH ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

Abstract Introduction Erectile dysfunction (ED), a prevalent condition commonly due to penile vascular changes, is increasingly recognized as an early warning sign of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite the association, ED is not incorporated as an algorithm variable in commonly used CVD screening tools, leaving a gap in comprehensive risk assessment. Urologists, who often see men for ED, would be uniquely positioned to assess cardiac risk, but often do not have access to the required data inputs commonly included in the existing screening tools (eg, lipid panels, family history of early cardiac disease). To address this gap, we initiated a QI process which included the development of a novel patient-completed CVD screening questionnaire for men presenting to urology with ED. Objective This project aims to describe the newly developed patient-completed CVD screening questionnaire for men with ED, its workflow implementation, and initial screening patterns. Methods Our multidisciplinary men’s health team including cardiology developed an ED-CVD questionnaire suitable for the urological office setting (Figure). A goal was to minimally disrupt normal workflows, therefore the form was made to be patient-completed. The point-based screening tool provides a cardiac risk score based on epidemiological studies and validated algorithms. A score of 4 or above indicates potentially increased CVD risk. Descriptive statistics were used to describe findings from screening implementation including questionnaire scores, preventive cardiology referrals, and referral completion. Results Between June 1, 2022 and May 31, 2024, a total of 427 men presenting to three urologists with erectile dysfunction have been screened with the ED-CVD questionnaire. Preventive cardiology referral was recommended for 76 (17.8%) men with ED and an elevated ED-CVD score (≥4) who had not seen a cardiologist in the past three years. Each positively-screened man was contacted by a nurse navigator who reviewed the reason for CVD screening and offered cardiology referral. A total of 39 (51.3%) of these men accepted cardiology referral with 31 completing evaluation to date. Conclusions A CVD screening and referral workflow can be easily implemented into the urology outpatient setting. Over 17% of men presenting with ED had a positive screening on an ED-CVD questionnaire without recent cardiology evaluation and more than half accepted a referral to preventive cardiology. Future efforts will examine the findings of cardiac evaluation to inform potential questionnaire validation. Disclosure No.