1. Glucocorticoid prescribing habits of sports medicine physicians working in high-performance sport : A 30-nation survey
- Author
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Nicole Vlahovich, Gordon Waddington, Alan Vernec, Peter Harcourt, Nicolin Tee, Kenneth D. Fitch, Susan White, David Hughes, and Marijke Welvaert
- Subjects
Competitive Behavior ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Sports medicine ,High performance sport ,Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation ,Sports Medicine ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,medicine ,Humans ,Orthopedics and Sports Medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Practice Patterns, Physicians' ,Glucocorticoids ,biology ,Athletes ,business.industry ,Drug Administration Routes ,030229 sport sciences ,General Medicine ,biology.organism_classification ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Health Care Surveys ,Family medicine ,Clinical Competence ,business ,Glucocorticoid ,hormones, hormone substitutes, and hormone antagonists ,medicine.drug - Abstract
ObjectivesGlucocorticoids are commonly prescribed in medicine. When administered via certain routes, glucocorticoids are prohibited for incompetition use by WADA. The glucocorticoid prescribing habits of sports medicine doctors have not been reported.MethodsAn online survey was distributed internationally to physicians working in high-performance sports. The survey queried the doctors about their use of glucocorticoids with athletes and their understanding of WADA’s regulations regarding glucocorticoid use in competition.Results603 sports medicine doctors from 30 different countries participated. The majority (>85%) routinely injected glucocorticoids and/or prescribed glucocorticoids by other routes. There were substantial differences in the common routes of injection as well as types of glucocorticoid used among the physicians from various countries. A relatively small percentage of sports doctors (ConclusionGlucocorticoids are widely prescribed by sports physicians. There is a need to better educate sports physicians on the current WADA regulations in relation to glucocorticoid administration.
- Published
- 2020