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JOURNAL
OF
SPORTS SCIENCE &
MEDICINE
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Research
article
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SURVEY OF SHORT-TERM ORAL CORTICOSTEROID ADMINISTRATION BY ORTHOPAEDIC PHYSICIANS IN COLLEGE AND HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES |
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Sudhakar G. Madanagopal  ,
John E. Kovaleski and Albert W. Pearsall IV |
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Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA. |
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© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2009) 8, 37 - 44 Search Google Scholar for Citing Articles |
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| ABSTRACT | |||
| The use of oral corticosteroid (OCS) drugs is advocated because
of their potent anti-inflammatory effects. They also possess many potential
adverse effects. No study has assessed physician prescribing practices of
OCS therapy in high school (HS) or college (COL) athletes. This paper reports
the prescribing patterns of sports medicine physicians who used short-term
OCS therapy and to describe associated complications in HS and COL athletes
within a 24- month period. An internet link to a descriptive epidemiology
survey was included in an e-mail to all members of the Arthroscopy Association
of North America and the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.
Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used to examine responses.
Total response rate was 32% (615/1,928). Sixty-six percent of the physicians
indicated prescribing OCS to both groups of athletes, while 29% reported
prescribing OCS to COL athletes and 5% to HS athletes for musculoskeletal
injuries. Physicians who prescribed multiple OCS regimens to the same athlete
within the same season (P = 0.01) and physicians who prescribed OCS to the
skeletally immature athlete (P = 0.009) reported more complications than
other physicians. Among the 412 physicians who did not prescribe OCS in
the treatment of athletic induced musculoskeletal injury, 251 (61%) cited
a risk of developing medical complications as the primary reason for avoiding
use. The reported number of medical complications was low with no cases
of avascular necrosis reported for the 2-year recall period. Orthopaedic
surgeons who treated athletic induced musculoskeletal injuries with a short-term
course of oral corticosteroids reported that high school and college athletes
benefited with few medical complications.
Key words: Glucocorticoids, oral corticosteroids, sports injuries, risk factors. |
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