KUALA LUMPUR,23 aPRIL 2007 – Pfizer Malaysia today unveiled a new diagnostic tool which enables men to take more control of their erectile dysfunction (ED) management and its subsequent improvement. This new tool is based on a 4-point scale which identifies Grade 4 erections as the optimal treatment goal for men with ED.[1]

The Erection Hardness Score (EHS) tool was launched recently at the European Association of Urology (EAU) annual meeting in Berlin, Germany. It follows a new global consensus, agreed by a panel of experts in the field of sexual health and was published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine¹. It highlights optimal erection hardness as the key objective factor for determining better sex.

The launch of the EHS tool and global consensus comes just 12 months after the publication of the Pfizer Global Better Sex Survey (GBSS 2006), a survey of the sexual habits of 12,558 men and women in 27 countries. The results had revealed that for a good sexual experience, hardness of erections is as important to men as their ability to achieve and maintain an erection.

Dr Peter Ng, Consultant Urologist at a local specialist centre elaborates, “According to the findings of GBSS, Malaysian men and women rated the importance of hardness of erections at 3.6 and 3.5, respectively (rated from 1 to 4). Women associated the hardness of erections with sexual satisfaction with a mean value of 3.4 while men stood at 3.3 (rated from 1 to 4)[2].”

“Thus, for men (and their partners), obtaining optimal erection hardness is of the utmost importance in achieving better sex. The new EHS tool represents a paradigm shift in the treatment of ED because it enables men to be given a clear treatment goal based on a simple assessment of erection hardness, thereby helping patients and in turn, their partners to achieve optimal sexual satisfaction. Similar to target levels of blood pressure or cholesterol, we seek to assist patients by defining a treatment goal for quality of erections.”

EHS has undergone validation using data from a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial of men with ED. This validation included analysis of EHS responses submitted as part of event logs by 300 patients. The validation supports the EHS as a simple and reliable tool for the assessment of ED in clinical practice.[3]

For simplicity and ease of use, the EHS tool is based on a straightforward 1 to 4 scale. Patients are merely asked to assess their level of hardness based on the following:

Grade 1 - Penis is larger but not hard

Grade 2 - Penis is hard, but not hard enough for penetration

Grade 3 - Penis is hard enough for penetration but not completely hard

Grade 4 - Penis is completely hard and fully rigid

In validation, the EHS was shown to strongly correlate with ED status (as defined by the International Index of Erectile Function – IIEF)³:

Grade 1 - Severe ED

Grade 2 - Moderate ED

Grade 3 - Mild ED

Grade 4 - No ED 

Victoria Lehmann, sex and relationship therapist from United Kingdom, who was also present at the press conference adds, “Recent data shows that erection hardness and quality correlates with a number of psychosocial benefits, including improvements in self-esteem, confidence and sexual relationship satisfaction.¹ With the EHS, men will now have a tool that is both simple and effective to measure the quality of their erections, which in turn will help to improve and enhance their (and their partners’)sexual satisfaction.”

Dr Ng concludes, “With recent studies linking ED as a marker of adverse cardiovascular prognosis, it is even more important to note that the goal of therapy in ED should be viewed as not only an improvement in erectile function and sexual relationship but ultimately, an improvement to the quality of life for the patient.”

The new consensus was put together by an international panel of experts in urology, psychology and primary care who evaluated retrospective data from worldwide clinical trials involving more than 10,000 men with ED.¹

About Pfizer Malaysia

Pfizer Malaysia is committed towards Working for a Healthier World. We practice this by playing an active role in the community and through good business practices and standards of behaviour in making available our strong portfolio of products in cardiovascular, neurology, infectious diseases, arthritis/pain, urology, ophthalmology and oncology areas to the public.

Pfizer Malaysia began operations in 1964 and currently employs over 300 colleagues with nine offices throughout the country.