On May 14, 2008, the New England Journal of Medicine published a report that concluded patients receiving Trasylol (aprotinin) during cardiac surgery have an increased risk of death when compared to patients receiving one of two other drugs in the same class: Cyklokapron (tranexamic acid) and Amicar (aminocaproic acid).

The 2,331-patient BART study found that the 30-day all-cause death rate for Trasylol patients was 6 percent, versus 3.9 percent for Cyklokapron patients and 4 percent for Amicar patients. In addition, researchers determined that Trasylol was not significantly more effective in preventing excessive bleeding than other drugs. Trasylol also costs about $1,400 per patient, compared to less than $4 for Amicar.

Researchers who conducted the study believe Trasylol probably does not have a future in cardiac surgery. They have not identified a definite cause of the excess mortality rates seen in Trasylol patients.

?In all likelihood, this is the end of the aprotinin story,? they wrote.

Source: John Gevern, ?Medical News: Other shoe drops on aprotinin (Trasylol), MedPage Today, May 14, 2008.