Abstract

Budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid is used routinely in the treatment of bronchial asthma and rhinitis. Although inhaled corticosteroids in therapeutic doses are unlikely to result in systemic side effects, there is as yet skepticism about their routine and prolonged use. The aim of this study was to determine whether budesonide inhalation through a metered dose inhaler, when exhaled through the nose could result in a reduction in the dose requirement of budesonide metered nasal spray in patients having perennial allergic asthma with rhinitis. This study was an open, parallel, comparative, crossover trial in which 49 young patients having perennial allergic asthma with rhinitis were divided into two groups and administered either a combination of budesonide metered dose inhaler with a budesonide nasal spray or a budesonide inhaler alone, which was to be exhaled through the nose. Both groups were later crossed over and weekly symptom scores and peak nasal inspiratory flow rates were monitored during each phase of the study. Finally, patients who volunteered from both groups were instructed to note the reduction in dose requirement of budesonide nasal spray while using a budesonide inhaler and exhaling it through the nose. The results of this study reveal that when a budesonide inhaler is exhaled through the nose, it results in an improvement in symptom scores and peak nasal inspiratory flow rates, which were significantly less than those obtained in the group using both a budesonide nasal spray and a metered dose inhaler. In addition, exhaling budesonide through the nose results in a 40.1% reduction in the dose requirement of a budesonide nasal spray, which is statistically significant (p < 0.001).