Physiological Responses to Heat Stress During High-risk Events

Recruiting now · Has a placebo group

Conditions studied: Thermoregulation

In brief

Exertional heat stroke (EHS) affects \~500 Military Personnel and over 100 Soldiers every year, and it is believed that these numbers are underreported. EHS is the most severe form of exertional heat illness (EHI) and can result in substantial, long-lasting organ damage, and even death in severe cases. Based on current knowledge and training needs, it is impossible to prevent every EHS - which shifts the focus from exclusively prevention to a combination of prevention, treatment, and enhancing recovery as much as possible. While many risk factors have been identified and there are adequate treatments available, biomarkers associated with heat stroke risk, recovery, and return-to-duty (RTD) remain largely unclear. The purpose of the proposed study is to enhance knowledge surrounding biomarkers of EHS and long-term health consequences that result from EHS. The investigators will recruit research volunteers for a field study in order to collect pre-, post-, and follow-up measures from a high-risk EHS event (i.e. ruck marches, timed runs) this will allow us to have a basis for comparison between Soldiers who collapse with EHS (from previously collected data) and those that complete high-risk events, but do not collapse. This will allow for comparison between the groups to identify EHS-specific biomarkers that could aid in recovery and RTD decisions for Soldiers.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT06907225

Run by

United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine

People needed

150

Starts

2025-05-31

Expected to finish

2026-09-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-05-05

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Individuals (to include cis- and transgender males and females and nonbinary) 18 years of age or greater
• Current military service (active, Reserve, or National Guard)
• Currently participating in training

You may not qualify if…

• Females who are pregnant
• Any individual currently on a physical profile that restricts running or foot marching
• History of obstructive disease of the gastrointestinal tract including (but not limited to) diverticulosis, diverticulitis and inflammatory bowel disease, peptic ulcer disease, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis.
• Scheduled MRI within 2 weeks after core temp pill ingestion
• Known allergies to skin adhesive
• Blood donation in the past 8 weeks

Where it is running

• Fort Novosel — Fort Novosel, Alabama, United States (enrolling)
• Field Study — Fort Jackson, South Carolina, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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