Frequency of intravenous therapy use in elite adult track and field athletes

To investigate the prevalence, patterns and substances of intravenous (IV) therapy among elite endurance athletes.

Cross-sectional observational study.

Participants were anonymously surveyed through a specially designed questionnaire. Responses to the questionnaire were received between October 2020 and January 2021. IV use of various medications and its association with sex, age, sporting discipline and competition tier was assessed.

Among 138 elite track and field athletes (73 men and 65 women) 56.5% (n = 78) reported IV administration of various drugs not prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Within this group, 18.8% (n = 26) administered these drugs regularly and 37.7% (n = 52) during the preparation for major competitions only competition. Actovegin (77.4%), phosphocreatine (64.5%), amino acids (58.1%), essentiale (57.0%), heptral (47.3%) and reamberin (44.1%) were most commonly used for this purpose. Comparison by competition level criterion revealed more frequent use of IV therapy by international level athletes compared to national level athletes (p = 0.02, OR 2.43 1.14-5.15). In addition, extra-level athletes were also significantly more likely to use amino acids (p = 0.016) and essentiale (p = 0.024) compared to national-level athletes. There were no statistically significant differences in the prevalence of parenteral medication use between international and extra-level athletes.

The use of IV therapy among elite track and field athletes appears to be relatively common based on self-reported data.