Trasylol (Aprotinin) Anti-Bleeding Drug Raises Death Risk: Canadian Study

Trasylol also known as Aprotinin, an expensive anti-bleeding drug used during heart surgery actually increased the risk that patients would die during surgery or in the 30 days following by more than 50%!

The Canadian Press has reported that a recent Canadian study called the BART trial compared Trasylol to two far cheaper alternatives found that patients who received Trasylol were 53 per cent more likely to die than people who received the other anti-bleeding agents, tranexamic acid or aminocaproic acid.

Dr. Paul Hebert, a critical care doctor at the Ottawa Health Research Institute and one of the investigators in the study, was quoted as saying that:

“The risks of aprotinin are greater than its benefits,”

Dr. David Mazer, a cardiovascular anesthesiologist and critical care physician at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and one of the lead researchers in the BART trial said:

“The BART study has changed the way heart surgery will be done in Canada and around the world,”

I have posted about the risks surrounding Trasylol before. According to an investigation by CBS’s 60 Minutes, Bayer, the manufacturer of Trasylol knew about dangers associated with the drug in 2006 but failed to advise the FDA and Health Canada.

You can watch the whole 60 Minutes story here.