Trasylol (aprotinin) now proves to double a patient's risk of kidney failure
August 31, 2006 09:27

Trasylol doubles a patient'srisk of kidney failure, and increases the risk of Trasylol heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and encephalopathy brain disease during coronary artery bypass surgery. Even with these known risks, Trasylol is still used in 60 percent of all surgeries.

According to the study that examined over 4,000 coronary artery bypass surgery patients at hospitals around the world, replacing Bayer aprotinin with one of two safer generic drugs would annually prevent as many as 11,050 dialysis complications, save at least $1 billion in dialysis healthcare costs, and reduce drug costs by $250 million.

The much safer generic drugs - Amicar and Cyklokapron-- cost only $11 and $44 per dose respectively. How can Bayer get away with hospitals paying $1,300 per dose for Trasylol plus being less safe?