Cytological aspects of the nasal respiratory epithelium in reproductive-age women taking oral contraceptives

Abstract

Objective To determine the effects of monophasic oral contraceptives on the nasal respiratory epithelium in premenopausal women.

Design Prospective open clinical trial.

Setting Outpatient Family Planning Centre.

Patient(s) Eighty-eight premenopausal women, with ovulatory cycle, who were planning to take oral contraceptives.

Intervention(s) Baseline endovaginal ultrasound examination and blood test to measure serum progesterone to confirm ovulatory cycle. Thirty-eight women on pill containing 30 μg ethinylestradiol (EE) plus 75 μg gestodene, and 35 women on pill containing 15 μg ethinylestradiol plus 60 μg gestodene.

Main outcomes/Measure(s) Cytological changes on the nasal respiratory epithelium evaluated with the maturation index performed during the follicular, periovular, and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle, and on the sixth cycle of pill intake.

Result(s) Hematoxylin-eosin staining for the maturation index showed similar trophic cytological aspects between the nasal and vaginal epithelium during the menstrual cycle and pill usage. Both the nasal and vaginal cytological samples showed higher maturation indexes during both the follicular and the periovular phases than during the luteal phase. Women on pill containing 15 μg EE showed lower trophic aspects in the nasal cytological samples compared with those on pill with 30 μg EE.

Conclusion(s) Along with the vaginal cells, the nasal respiratory epithelium is an ovarian steroid target. The maturation index of the nasal respiratory epithelium seems to depend on the variation of the ovarian steroids during the menstrual cycle and on the iatrogenic effects of oral contraceptives.

Key words:

• Oral contraceptives
• Nasal epithelium smear
• Menstrual cycle
• Vaginal smear