Sexual Functions in Male Patients with Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

Abstract

Objective: To explore sexual dysfunctions and expectations about sexuality in male patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) aged between 20-40. Material and Methods: A total of 75 traumatic SCI male patients were included in this study. The demographic and clinical characteristics were obtained by retrospective chart review. The differences between preinjury and post-injury sexuality status of the participants were assessed. The relationship between neurological level and erection/ejaculation was investigated. Results: The mean age of the participants was 26.16±4.35 years. The mean time since injury was 34.26±30.68 months. The number of the patients who had sexual interactions before injury was 63 (84%). Also, 34 patients (45%) had sex after injury, but 66 (88%) of the patients mentioned that their sexuality was affected after injury; 31 (41.3%) of the patients were not informed about sexuality in the post-injury period. Further, erection duration of 37 (60.6%) of the participants was shorter than 5 minutes, and 20 (32.8%) of the patients reported that they were satisfied with their erection. Moreover, 31 (41.3%) of the patients had reflex erection (RE), 14 (18.7%) of them had a psychogenic erection (PE), 16 (21.3%) of them got a mixed type of erection (RE+PE), and 14 (18.7%) of the patients did not have an erection. Ejaculation was present in 28 (37.3%) of the patients. The first three responses to questions about circumstances causing problems in post-injury sexual life and expectations for sexual life were erection, ejaculation, and orgasm, respectively. Conclusion: This study showed that sexual functions, like erection, ejaculation, and orgasm, in male patients were affected severely after SCI. The majority of the patients did not have enough sexual consulting, and the patients had great expectations for getting informed about sexuality in the post-injury period.