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Trasylol Story A Sea Change For Medical Community
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Alan Haburchak
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By Alan Haburchak
Published on May 12, 2008
 
Trasylol-Aprotinin, an injectable drug used to stop bleeding for patients undergoing surgical procedures such like heart or kidney disease, was once praised as being a perfectly safe drug. However, additional studies and research proved otherwise causing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to warn doctors of the adverse side effects of the drug that include renal failure.
How does a drug marketed by a pharmaceutical giant go from superstar to scapegoat in a matter of mere months? That's what doctors who use the injectable drug Trasylol-Aprotinin are asking themselves after recent revelations that the drug, which is used to stop bleeding in 60 percent of heart surgery patients, causes side effects such as kidney failure, heart attack, encephalopathy, stroke and even death.

The drug, which is manufactured by Bayer AG and was approved in the United States in 1993, had been questioned in a January 2006 report by the New England Journal of Medicine, which found that Trasylol upped the risk of kidney failure after heart surgery by 259 percent and linked the drug with renal failure and future heart attacks.

Singing Its Praises

Ironically, the drug had been mentioned in The Washington Post in early January 2006 as an example of a drug so safe that it no longer required clinical study. The article stated that Trasylol dropped the risk of blood transfusions in bypass patients by one-third and that after only 12 of 64 clinical studies, its advantages were clear. Amazingly, the article stated that if researchers had used the positive information from previous studies, they would not have needed to run their own clinical trials.

Tides Turn for Trasylol

The above article ran on January 2, 2006. However, in only 24 days, the tide had turned for Trasylol after the New England Journal of Medicine published its study of over 1,000 heart patients who received injections of Trasylol-Aprotinin. Bayer responded by insisting that the study was inherently flawed, but it came to the attention of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), who warned doctors and patients of the drug's adverse side effects, which include increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and even the deadly brain disease encephalopathy.

Though Bayer has tried to discredit this study and market the drug for other procedures (including hip replacement surgery), lawsuits have begun to flow in as more and more patients have been found who have experienced detrimental side effects from the use of Trasylol-Aprotinin in their heart surgeries.

Have You Suffered Side Effects?

If you or a loved one have suffered side effects, such as stroke, heart attack, encephalopathy or even death, after the use of Trasylol-Aprotinin in a surgical heart procedure, you may be eligible for compensation and damages for your lost wages, medical care, future medical care, loss of consort, and/or emotional and physical pain and suffering. Contact an experienced pharmaceutical attorney who can help you evaluate your claim and attain the compensation you deserve.