Peripheral oedema as a side-effect of fluticasone

A 14-year-old girl had experienced gross peripheral oedema for nearly 2 years. She was under review by several paediatric specialists for a variety of problems. Her local paediatric team were unable to find the cause of her oedema, despite extensive investigations. Eventually, her mother discovered the cause was inhaled fluticasone, prescribed at normal dosage for asthma. As far as the authors are aware, this is the first reported case of peripheral oedema associated with the use of fluticasone. Peripheral oedema is a rare side-effect of fluticasone in the form of either seretide or flixotide. Physicians should be aware of this possibility in cases of resistant peripheral oedema with no other identified cause.