RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Pre-participation health evaluation in adolescent athletes competing at Youth Olympic Games: proposal for a tailored protocol
JF British Journal of Sports Medicine
JO Br J Sports Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine
SP bjsports-2018-099651
DO 10.1136/bjsports-2018-099651
A1 Paolo Emilio Adami
A1 Maria Rosaria Squeo
A1 Filippo Maria Quattrini
A1 Fernando Maria Di Paolo
A1 Cataldo Pisicchio
A1 Barbara Di Giacinto
A1 Erika Lemme
A1 Viviana Maestrini
A1 Antonio Pelliccia
YR 2018
UL http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/early/2018/11/17/bjsports-2018-099651.abstract
AB Objective To promote sports participation in young people, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) introduced the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2007. In 2009, the IOC Consensus Statement was published, which highlighted the value of periodic health evaluation in elite athletes. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of a comprehensive protocol for illness and injury detection, tailored for adolescent athletes participating in Summer or Winter YOG.Methods Between 2010 and 2014, a total of 247 unique adolescent elite Italian athletes (53% females), mean age 16±1,0 years, competing in 22 summer or 15 winter sport disciplines, were evaluated through a tailored pre-participation health evaluation protocol, at the Sports Medicine and Science Institute of the Italian Olympic Committee.Results In 30 of the 247 athletes (12%), the pre-participation evaluation led to the final diagnosis of pathological conditions warranting treatment and/or surveillance, including cardiovascular in 11 (4.5%), pulmonary in 11 (4.5%), endocrine in five (2.0%), infectious, neurological and psychiatric disorders in one each (0.4%). Based on National and International Guidelines and Recommendations, none of the athletes was considered at high risk for acute events and all were judged eligible to compete at the YOG. Athletes with abnormal conditions were required to undergo a periodic follow-up.Conclusions The Youth Pre-Participation Health Evaluation proved to be effective in identifying a wide range of disorders, allowing prompt treatment, appropriate surveillance and avoidance of potential long-term consequences, in a significant proportion (12%) of adolescent Italian Olympic athletes.