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Cognitive and physical performance are well preserved following standard blood donation: A noninferiority, randomized clinical trial

Surgeon General's Headquarters, Israel Defense Forces, Ramat Gan, Israel. Department of Surgery and Transplantation B, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel. Department of Emergency Medicine, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel. Bar-Ilan University Faculty of Medicine (G.E.), Safed, Israel. Office of Medical Affairs, National Insurance Institute of Israel, Jerusalem, Israel. National Blood Services, Magen David Adom, Ramat Gan, Israel. Faculty of Medicine, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.

Transfusion. 2020
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PICO Summary

Population

Infantry combatants (n= 36).

Intervention

Blood donation group: 450ml of blood collected after venous catheterisation (n= 18).

Comparison

Control group: venous catheterisation (n= 18).

Outcome

No clinically or statistically significant differences were found in tests designed to evaluate cognitive performance or physical functions. Vital signs taken multiple times were also similar between the test and control groups.
Abstract
BACKGROUND A walking blood bank (WBB) refers to the use of fellow combatants for battlefield blood donation. This requires pretesting combatants for infectious diseases and blood type. A fundamental prerequisite for this technique is that the donating soldier will suffer minimal physiological and mental impact. The purpose of the current study is to assess the effect of blood shedding on battlefield performance. METHODS This is a double-blind randomized control trial. Forty Israel Defense Forces combatants volunteered for the study. Participants underwent baseline evaluation, including repeated measurement of vital signs, cognitive evaluation, physical evaluation, and a strenuous shooting test. Three weeks after the baseline evaluation, subjects were randomized to either blood donation or the control group. For blinding purposes, all subjects underwent venous catheterization for the duration of a blood donation. Repeated vital signs and function evaluation were then performed. RESULTS Thirty-six patients were available for randomization. Baseline measurements were similar for both groups. Mean strenuous shooting score was 80.5 +/- 9.5 for the control group and 82 +/- 6.6 for the test group (p = 0.58). No clinically or statistically significant differences were found in tests designed to evaluate cognitive performance or physical functions. Vital signs taken multiple times were also similar between the test and control groups. CONCLUSIONS Executive, cognitive, and physical functions were well preserved after blood donation. This study supports the hypothesis that a WBB does not decrease donor combat performance. The categorical prohibition of physical exercise following blood donation might need to be reconsidered in both military and civilian populations.
Study details
Language : eng
Credits : Bibliographic data from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine