Trasylol Patients and Clinical Trial Subjects Beware

Thirteen years ago, the FDA approved Trasylol (aprotinin) for use in patients undergoing heart bypass surgery. In January 2006, doctors, consumer advocates and a medical research group called for the removal of the drug from the market after a study found it to have deadly side effects. Read More...

The study was conducted by a consortium of surgeons called the Multicenter Study of Perioperative Ischemia Research Group, sponsored by the California-based Ischemia Research and Education Foundation (IREF), and led by IREF founder Dr Dennis Mangano, MD, Ph D.

"Our findings raise serious concerns regarding the safety of an approved drug intended to limit blood loss in at-risk patients undergoing surgery," wrote Dr Mangano in the NEJM.

Another study published in the January 20, 2006 online edition of the journal Transfusion reported a similar increase in renal problems among patients given Trasylol while undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.