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Updated: Dec 20, 2025

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Published on: February 12, 2015
Effect of Inhalational Therapy on Buccal Mucosal Cells in Asthmatic Patients: A Cytological Study
Mohammed Ismail Benazir1, Harikrishnan Prasad1, Muthusamy Rajmohan1
1Department of Oral Pathology, KSR Institute of Dental Science and Research, Tiruchengode, Tamil Nadu, India.
Objective:
Inhalational drugs used in treating asthma have several side effects including those on oral tissues. We therefore designed a study to analyze the effects of inhalational drugs on the buccal mucosal cells of the oral cavity.
Methods:
Smears were obtained from clinically normal buccal mucosa of 20 randomly selected asthmatic patients who had been under inhalational therapy for at least 6 months. The Papanicolaou-stained smears were then analyzed for average nuclear area, average cytoplasmic area, and average nuclear area:cytoplasmic area ratio for each patient, and the values were compared with those of 10 healthy controls.
Results:
A statistically significant decrease in cytoplasmic area (P<0.001) was found in asthmatic patients compared to controls. A significant increase in mean nuclear area:cytoplasmic area ratio (P<0.001) was noted in asthmatic patients when compared to controls.
Conclusion:
Prolonged use of inhalational drugs in patients diagnosed with asthma is associated with changes in oral epithelial cells. There is a need to assess whether these are the direct adverse effects of such drugs and whether they have any long-term impact on oral tissues.
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