Outcome analysis for conservative management of Peyronie's disease

We retrospectively analysed the outcomes of conservative management of Peyronie's disease and determined the factors predicting successful outcome.

The study involved 31 patients with Peyronie's disease who were treated at our institute between 1985 and 2003. We assessed the efficacy of vitamin E for the improvement of the symptoms, and the factors which contributed to successful outcome with conservative management using multivariate analysis.

There was no statistically significant difference in the relief rate between the vitamin E and no-medication groups. The overall estimated relief rate was 67.5% at 2 years from presentation. The multivariate analysis revealed plaque size to be the only significant factor predicting the relief from all symptoms in patients with conservative management. The rate was 100% in patients having a plaque size of 20 mm or smaller and 20.0% in those having a size of larger than 20 mm (P=0.005).

We could not confirm the benefit of vitamin E for Peyronie's disease. Plaque size was the only significant factor predicting the relief from all symptoms. Patients with larger plaque might fail to respond to the conservative management.