Use of acetaminophen in young subelite athletes

The purpose of the present investigation was to look for other drugs besides doping substances in the urine of subelite athletes submitted to heavy training.One hundred and forty-one young subelite athletes (in sprint, cycling, middle distance running and handball) were included in the study, with a control group of 89 high school pupils. Drugs were researched by high performance liquid chromatography using a diode array detector.Among the 212 subjects who agreed to give a urine sample, acetaminophen was detected: 9.5% for the subelite athletes versus 1.3% for the control group with a greater difference for sprint and cycling training (26.7% and 20%, respectively). Acetaminophen is used to treat both acute and chronic pains. It relieves pain by elevating the pain threshold.The use of acetaminophen has to be taken into account by medical staff, trainers and educators.