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Editor: Jamie Sheller
Profession: Trasylol Attorney

Category: About Trasylol

There has much in the news lately about a Canadian study that ended with Trasylol being pulled from the market. The anti-bleeding drug made by Bayer AG was being studied, along with two other drugs in the same class. Researchers wanted to show that they all had the same risk level when used during heart surgery to stop bleeding. The Blood Conservation using Antifibrinolytics in a Randomized Trial (BART) study examined data from nearly 3,000 patients in Canada. Trasylol is also known by the name Aprotinin.

The three drugs examined, aminocaproic acid, aprotinin and tranexamic acid, were all approved by Health Canada and were not considered investigational. No placebo group was included in the study because antifibrinolytic therapy is considered a standard of care in high-risk cardiac surgery patients. As the first large study to rigorously compare these three drugs in high-risk cardiac surgery patients, the BART study was expected to provide highly valuable evidence to clinicians and patients.

The study was begun in 2002 and was ended when researchers found an increase in deaths related to the use of Trasylol. The data revealed that for every 100 patients, there were 2 more deaths when Trasylol was used over the other two drugs. Trasylol was pulled from the worldwide market when the results of the study were announced.