Cardiac surgery drugs

A five-year study of 3,876 cardiac surgery patients found that those given the drug aprotinin to prevent blood loss were almost 50% more likely to die than those who do not receive this drug. They were also found to have a significantly higher death rate than those given two similar drugs to prevent bleeding.

This research was conducted by the Ischemia Research and Education Foundation in San Bruno, California, and assessed survival rates at six weeks, six months and annually for five years among patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery at 62 medical centres around the world.

They reviewed the death rates of patients treated with three drugs used to reduce blood loss – aminocaproic acid, tranexamic acid and aprotinin. Death rates among a control group of 1,009 patients who received no anti-bleeding agent were also examined.