Abstract des Autors

Considerable scientific progress has been achieved in the field of athletic drug testing. However, a number of court challenges of drug testing programs have recently been filed and decisions are pending. The challenges, for the majority of cases, focus on invasion of privacy issues (becuase the athlete is monitored when delivering his specimen) and unreasonable search (because athletes are tested according to a randomized process, without "reasonable" suspicion of having taken banned drugs). Other challenges have focused on analytical methods used in drug testing and even confirmation of results by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry has been questioned by the courts. The accreditation scheme which has now gained worldwide acceptance was developed by the International Olympic Committee Medical Commission in 1980. The accreditation process gives, at one point in time, the best performance a laboratory can achieve, based on supportive documentation of data, the expertise of the scientific personnel, the quality of scientific instrumentation and so forth. It is obvious that incorrect results cannot be tolerated in the area of doping control. Correct results imply however much more than the ability for a laboratory to correctly indentify drugs and/or metabolites in biological specimens at certain specific periods. The laboratories should also be requested to demonstrate proficiency on an on-going basis and to follow quality control procedures and good laboratory practices in the strictest manner possible. The International Olympic Committee has now defined such a scheme, including standards which hrequire the use of the best available technology for ensuring the full reliability and accuracy of analytical tests. Procedures for periodic review of laboratories as well as criteria for accreditation (and revocation of accreditation) of laboratories have also been defined. This communication will describe these guidelines, which include laboratory analysis procedures and quality assurance programs. This will encompass all aspects of the testing process: specimen acquisition, chain of custody, security, and reporting of results, in addition to analytical procedures. The design of quality control procedures adapted to doping control will also be discussed. Verf.-Referat