Doctors Urge Ban on Bleeding Reduction Drug

January 2006

A drug used to control bleeding during heart surgery may do more harm than good. Aprotinin, sold under the brand name Trasylol and manufactured by Bayer, is linked to increased risk of kidney failure, heart attacks and strokes.

Patients given Trasylol had a 5% rate of kidney failure-twice as much as patients given other drugs. There was also a spike in other serious medical problems such as heart failure, heart attacks and strokes. The report, along with subsequent recommendations to stop administering the drug, was included in an article published by The New England Journal of Medicine.

The article claims if Trasylol was no longer given to heart patients, it would prevent 10,000 to 11,000 cases of kidney failure and reduce dialysis costs by more than $1 billion a year. This conclusion came from a study of 4,374 heart bypass patients from around the world.

Trasylol is typically given intravenously along with a mixture of other medicines most patients aren’t aware they are receiving. Doctors are not required to get a patient’s permission before administering the drug.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing the data on Trasylol and will make suggestions for the drug’s best use as soon as possible.

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