RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To develop an analog visual instrument to diagnose patients with erectile dysfunction, to establish the ability to understand it in the population and to compare it with the "gold standard" scale for the disease, providing a basis for its future validation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study that included all 18 years old men and older, of the urology service of Juarez Hospital of Mexico City, whose reason for consultation was erectile dysfunction. The patients were assessed using two clinical tools: the International Index of Erectile Function and the Erectile Function Pineda Visual Analog Scale consecutively. The sociodemographic features of the patients included age, language, educational level, location and marital status. The comprehension, the response time and the degree of dysfunction were assessed. The qualitative variables were analyzed with Pearson's chi square and the quantitative variables with the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: The final registry included 227 patients, finding an average age of 55.6±14 years. The majority of the population (94.7%) communicated through the Spanish language. There are statistically significant differences between both scales, in the understanding, the degree of dysfunction, the final score and the response time, all with a p=,0001. The patients with lower educational level were able to respond completely and more quickly the Erectile Function Pineda Visual Analog Scale questionnaire than the International Index of Erectile Function. However, we cannot assume that they understand it better. CONCLUSIONS: The Erectile Function Pineda Visual Analog Scale is a prototype of a visual scale that can be used as an alternative to the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire, especially in patients with academic and linguistic limitations.