International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement on acute respiratory illness in athletes part 1: acute respiratory infections

Martin Schwellnus^{1

2}, Paolo Emilio Adami³, Valerie Bougault⁴, Richard Budgett⁵, Hege Havstad Clemm^{6

7}, Wayne Derman^{2

8}, Uğur Erdener⁵, Ken Fitch⁹, James H Hull^{10

11}, Cameron McIntosh¹², Tim Meyer¹³, Lars Pedersen¹⁴, David B Pyne¹⁵, Tonje Reier-Nilsen^{16

17}, Wolfgang Schobersberger¹⁸, Yorck Olaf Schumacher¹⁹, Nicola Sewry^{20

2}, Torbjørn Soligard⁵, Maarit Valtonen²¹, Nick Webborn²², Lars Engebretsen^{5

17}

Affiliations

¹ Sport, Exercise Medicine and Lifestyle Institute (SEMLI), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa mschwell@iafrica.com.
² International Olympic Committee Research Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.
³ Health and Science Department, World Athletics, Monaco, Monaco Principality.
⁴ Laboratoire Motricité Humaine Expertise Sport Santé, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France.
⁵ Medical and Scientific Department, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁶ Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.
⁷ Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
⁸ Institute of Sport and Exercise Medicine (ISEM), Department of Sport Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
⁹ School of Human Science; Sports, Exercise and Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
¹⁰ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK.
¹¹ Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH), University College London (UCL), London, UK.
¹² Edge Day Hospital, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
¹³ Institute of Sports and Preventive Medicine, Saarland University, Saarbrucken, Germany.
¹⁴ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹⁵ Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
¹⁶ The Norwegian Olympic Sports Centre, Oslo, Norway.
¹⁷ Trauma Research Center, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
¹⁸ Institute for Sports Medicine, Alpine Medicine & Health Tourism (ISAG), University Hospital - Tirol Kliniken Innsbruck and Private University UMIT Tirol, Hall, Austria.
¹⁹ Sports Medicine, Aspetar Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar.
²⁰ Sport, Exercise Medicine and Lifestyle Institute (SEMLI), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
²¹ Research Center for Olympic Sports, Jyväskylä, Finland.
²² Centre for Sport and Exercise Science and Medicine, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK.

PMID: 35863871
DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2022-105759

International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement on acute respiratory illness in athletes part 1: acute respiratory infections

Martin Schwellnus et al. Br J Sports Med. 2022.

. 2022 Jul 21:bjsports-2022-105759.

doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2022-105759. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Sport, Exercise Medicine and Lifestyle Institute (SEMLI), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa mschwell@iafrica.com.
² International Olympic Committee Research Centre, Pretoria, South Africa.
³ Health and Science Department, World Athletics, Monaco, Monaco Principality.
⁴ Laboratoire Motricité Humaine Expertise Sport Santé, Université Côte d'Azur, Nice, France.
⁵ Medical and Scientific Department, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.
⁶ Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway.
⁷ Department of Clinical Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
⁸ Institute of Sport and Exercise Medicine (ISEM), Department of Sport Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.
⁹ School of Human Science; Sports, Exercise and Health, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
¹⁰ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Royal Brompton Hospital, London, UK.
¹¹ Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health (ISEH), University College London (UCL), London, UK.
¹² Edge Day Hospital, Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
¹³ Institute of Sports and Preventive Medicine, Saarland University, Saarbrucken, Germany.
¹⁴ Department of Respiratory Medicine, Bispebjerg Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark.
¹⁵ Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
¹⁶ The Norwegian Olympic Sports Centre, Oslo, Norway.
¹⁷ Trauma Research Center, Department of Sports Medicine, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
¹⁸ Institute for Sports Medicine, Alpine Medicine & Health Tourism (ISAG), University Hospital - Tirol Kliniken Innsbruck and Private University UMIT Tirol, Hall, Austria.
¹⁹ Sports Medicine, Aspetar Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar.
²⁰ Sport, Exercise Medicine and Lifestyle Institute (SEMLI), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
²¹ Research Center for Olympic Sports, Jyväskylä, Finland.
²² Centre for Sport and Exercise Science and Medicine, University of Brighton, Brighton, UK.

PMID: 35863871
DOI: 10.1136/bjsports-2022-105759

Abstract

Acute illnesses affecting the respiratory tract are common and form a significant component of the work of Sport and Exercise Medicine (SEM) clinicians. Acute respiratory illness (ARill) can broadly be classified as non-infective ARill and acute respiratory infections (ARinf). The aim of this consensus is to provide the SEM clinician with an overview and practical clinical approach to ARinf in athletes. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical and Scientific Commission appointed an international consensus group to review ARill (non-infective ARill and ARinf) in athletes. Six subgroups of the IOC Consensus group were initially established to review the following key areas of ARill in athletes: (1) epidemiology/risk factors for ARill, (2) ARinf, (3) non-infective ARill including ARill due to environmental exposure, (4) acute asthma and related conditions, (5) effects of ARill on exercise/sports performance, medical complications/return-to-sport and (6) acute nasal/vocal cord dysfunction presenting as ARill. Several systematic and narrative reviews were conducted by IOC consensus subgroups, and these then formed the basis of sections in the consensus documents. Drafting and internal review of sections were allocated to 'core' members of the consensus group, and an advanced draft of the consensus document was discussed during a meeting of the main consensus core group in Lausanne, Switzerland on 11 to 12 October 2021. Final edits were completed after the meeting. This consensus document (part 1) focusses on ARinf, which accounts for the majority of ARill in athletes. The first section of this consensus proposes a set of definitions and classifications of ARinf in athletes to standardise future data collection and reporting. The remainder of the consensus paper examines a wide range of clinical considerations related to ARinf in athletes: epidemiology, risk factors, pathology/pathophysiology, clinical presentation and diagnosis, management, prevention, medical considerations, risks of infection during exercise, effects of infection on exercise/sports performance and return-to-sport guidelines.

Keywords: Consensus; IOC; Respiratory System.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared except for the following: RB who works as Director for the IOC Medical and Scientific Department, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland. LE who works as Head of Scientific Activities for the IOC Medical and Scientific Department, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland. UE who is the Chair of the Medical and Scientific Department, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland. TS who works as Scientific Manager for the IOC Medical and Scientific Department, International Olympic Committee, Lausanne, Switzerland.

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International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement on acute respiratory illness in athletes part 1: acute respiratory infections

Affiliations

International Olympic Committee (IOC) consensus statement on acute respiratory illness in athletes part 1: acute respiratory infections

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources