Am J Manag Care. 1999 Jan;5(1 Suppl):S15-8; discussion S19-22.
Erectile dysfunction (ED) and the results of its treatment are two separate issues, centering on how outcomes of the disorder affect the economy and the impact its treatment has on quality of life. The treatment of ED has been an $800-million-a-year business in the United States alone. The recent introduction of the drug sildenafil raises the possibility that revenues from its sale could reap billions of dollars for the pharmaceutical industry, with much of that cost being borne by the managed care industry. The introduction of sildenatil raises new cost-effectiveness concerns about all available treatment options. Both the National Institutes of Health and the American Urological Association have identified the need for better studies whose outcomes could be used to analyze the problem of ED.
勃起功能障碍（ED）及其治疗结果是两个不同的问题，重点在于该病症的结果如何影响经济以及其治疗对生活质量的影响。仅在美国，ED的治疗每年就是一项价值8亿美元的业务。药物西地那非的近期推出增加了这样一种可能性，即其销售收入可能为制药行业带来数十亿美元，而其中大部分成本将由管理式医疗行业承担。西地那非的推出引发了对所有现有治疗选择的新的成本效益担忧。美国国立卫生研究院和美国泌尿外科学会都已确定需要进行更好的研究，其结果可用于分析ED问题。
