An article "Mortality Associated With Aprotinin During 5 Years Following Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery" published in the Feb 7 issue of JAMA has questioned the safety of the continued use of Aprotinin.
Trasylol, the brand name for Aprotinin, a drug commonly used to limit blood loss during cardiac surgery, is found associated with an increased risk of long-term mortality following CABG surgery. The US researchers conclude that "continued use of aprotinin in this population does not appear prudent, given that safer alternatives ... are available."
Cardiac surgeon T. Bruce Ferguson Jr., M.D., writes in an editorial in the same issue of JAMA, "Aprotinin – Are There Lessons Learned?" saying that the study "highlights the need for better ways to assess drug safety.
Aprotinin is made by Bayer, approved for use in patients undergoing cardiac surgery in the US in 1993. The drug was used on more than four million people worldwide since 1985 mainly for heart surgery. This study has raised a larger issue of drug safety evaluation in the current medical environment.
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