Oropharyngeal candidiasis with dry-powdered fluticasone propionate: 500 μg/day versus 200 μg/day

ABSTRACTWe aimed to determine the frequency of oropharyngeal candidiasis and its clinical correlates in the asthmatic patients who use fluticasone propionate (FP) as a dry powdered inhaler.We selected four groups of patients: 62 asthmatic patients who were taking 200 μg/d FP, 122 asthmatics who were taking 500 μg/d FP, 50 asthmatic patients who had not been on inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment and 40 normal non-asthmatic subjects.The frequency of positive swabs for Candida colonization was higher in 500 g/d FP group than asthmatics without ICS use (χ2 = 6.8, p < 0.05) and normal controls (χ2 = 4.9, p < 0.05), whereas it wasn’t different in the 200 g/day FP group when compared to controls. When we considered patients who used ICS, the most effective variables affecting the occurrence of Candida colonization were washing of the throat by the patients (OR = 9.4, 95 % Confidence Interval [CI] = 3.9-22.7, p < 0.0001) and duration of ICS use more than 12 months (OR = 2.5, 95 % CI = 1.1-2.6, p < 0.05).The present study showed that in the patients who use ICS, the most important determinants on colonization were not washing the throat regularly and duration of ICS use for more than 12 months.