Two new studies recently found that Trasylol, a drug used to prevent bleeding during open heart surgery, is connected to a potentially higher risk of death in those patients. The drug, known generically as aprotinin, is manufactured by Bayer. Trasylol is injected into patients during cardiac bypass surgery in order to prevent hemorrhaging, which it does by inducing clotting.

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published the results of these studies this week, reporting that patients given Trasylol during heart surgery were 64 percent more likely to be at risk for death than those given another drug. One study also found that 6.4 percent of patients given Trasylol during the study died within 30 days of surgery.

A January 2006 NEJM study previously reported that Trasylol is linked to serious, life-threatening side effects. The study of 4,374 patients demonstrated that Trasylol at least doubles the risk of kidney failure and stroke, or encephalopathy, and raises the risk of heart failure or heart attack by 55 percent.

The conclusion reported in the NEJM following the new studies is that patients who were injected with Trasylol alone on the day of surgery had a higher mortality rate than those who were given a comparison drug. The study found no explanation for the difference that could be linked to the patients or the surgeons.

Sources: “Aprotinin during Coronary-Artery Bypass Grafting and Risk of Death.” New England Journal of Medicine, Nejm.org. February 21, 2008.; Anne Wilde Matthews, “Bayer Halts U.S. Sale of Trasylol,” WSJ.Com, November 5, 2007; “New Studies Show Risk of Antibleeding Drug.” Nytimes.com, February 21, 2008.