Effect of hyperhydration on the pharmacokinetics and detection of orally administered budesonide in doping control analysis

The aim of the present study was to investigate if hyperhydration could influence the excretion and subsequent detection of budesonide (BDS) and its main metabolites (6β‐hydroxy‐budesonide and 16α‐hydroxy‐prednisolone) during doping control analysis by leading to concentrations below the WADA reporting level (30 ng/mL). The influence of hyperhydration on the plasma and urinary pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles of BDS and metabolites was also examined. Seven healthy physically active non‐smoking Caucasian males participated in a 15‐day clinical study. BDS was administered orally at a single dose of 9 mg on Days 1, 7, and 13. Hyperhydration was applied in the morning on two consecutive days, that is, 0 and 24 hours after first fluid ingestion. Water and a commercial sports drink were used as hyperhydration agents (20 mL/kg body weight). Results showed no significant difference (P > 0.05, 95% CI) on plasma or urinary PK parameters under hyperhydration conditions for all the analytes. However, significant differences (P