Sports Physicians May Not Know Which Forms Of Corticosteroids Are Banned Under Anti-Doping Rules, Research Suggests

“Sports physicians routinely prescribe corticosteroids to athletes for conditions like inflammation, asthma and allergies, but not all of them know which forms of these drugs are banned under anti-doping rules,” researchers concluded. After surveying “603 physicians from 30 countries,” investigators “found that four in five prescribe oral corticosteroids to athletes, one of the forms prohibited during competition by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).” Even though “73% of physicians knew athletes needed a medical exemption to use oral corticosteroids just before or during competition, far fewer knew exemptions were also required for other forms of these drugs including intravenous injections, ointments, creams and inhaled medicines.” The findings were published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-sports-steroids/sports-doctors-may-accidentally-prescribe-banned-steroids-idUSKBN20Q2ZW