Urologist practice patterns in the management of premature ejaculation: a nationwide survey

Contemporary U.S. urologist's "real world" practice patterns in treating premature ejaculation (PE) are unknown.

To ascertain contemporary urologist practice patterns in the management of PE.

A randomly generated mailing list of 1,009 practicing urologists was generated from the American Urologic Association (AUA) member directory. A custom-designed survey was mailed to these urologists with a cover letter and a return-address envelope. Responses were compared with the AUA 2004 guidelines for the treatment of PE.

The survey assessed several practice-related factors and asked questions of how the subject would handle various presentations of PE in their practice.

Responses from practicing urologists totaled 207 (21%). Eighty-four percent of the respondents were in private practice and 11% were in academics. Most urologists (73%) saw less than one PE patient per week. On-demand selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy was the most commonly selected first line treatment (26%), with daily dosing a close second (22%). Combination SSRI therapy, the "stop/start" technique, the "squeeze" technique, and topical anesthetics were favored by 13, 18, 18, and 11% of the respondents, respectively. If primary treatment failed, changing dosing of SSRIs, topical anesthetics, and referral to psychiatry were increasingly popular options. Ten percent of urologists would treat PE before erectile dysfunction (ED) in a patient with both conditions, with the remainder of the respondents treating ED first, typically with a phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (78% of total). Fifty-one percent of urologists report that they would inquire about the sexual partner, but only 8, 7, and 4% would evaluate, refer, or treat the partner, respectively.

The majority of our respondents diagnose PE by patient complaint, and treat ED before PE, as per the 2004 PE guidelines. Very few urologists offer referral or treatment to sexual partners of men suffering from PE. Additional randomized studies in the treatment of PE are needed.