[Corticosteroid treatment of asthma].

Inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) has proved to be an effective corticosteroid in the treatment of asthma, acting as if it were equivalent to about 5 to 10 mg of prednisolone per day but without the systemic side effects that may accompany oral treatment. The effectiveness of inhaled BDP is not associated with significant local side effects, the most common of which has proved to be oral candidiasis. There is no evidence to date that inhaled BDP promotes lung infection or damages the bronchial epithelium.