Doping test reveals high concentrations of salbutamol in a Swiss track and field athlete.

Beta-2 agonists are on the list of prohibited substances in sport. Salbutamol by inhalation is permitted to treat allergic asthma, and/or exercise-induced asthma or exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. If the level of salbutamol in urine exceeds 1000 ng/mL, the result is considered as a doping violation with an anabolic steroid. We report a case of a track and field athlete who tested well above this limit during a competition. He had a valid therapeutic use exemption for the use of salbutamol by inhalation and he claimed that he never used salbutamol orally. Further studies under controlled application by inhalation showed that this limit was exceeded. We propose that sanctioning bodies in sport should consider this possibility before taking into account a two-year ban for the use of an anabolic steroid.