Researchers are suggesting replacing the drug sold by Bayer AG under the brand name Trasylol with some other, cheaper medications for a year. The replacement is expected to prevent 10,000 deaths worldwide over the next five years. Additionally, the scientists also found that prolonged use of Trasylol raised the risk of kidney failure, heart attacks and strokes.
However, drug makers Bayer have reacted strongly to the new research saying the findings are unreliable because Trasylol tends to be used in more complex operations and the findings did not consider the complexity of the surgery cases, nor did the study take into account the unlikelihood that the patient would survive, regardless of the medication used.
Nevertheless, the drug company has promised to work in tandem with regulatory agencies and various experts to "further evaluate the findings."
The study is published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association. The drug aprotinin, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 1993, is currently reviewed by the agency for its safety.
According to the Associated Press, aprotinin works by blocking enzymes that dissolve blood clots, and experts have speculated that clotting problems caused the deaths. The study followed 3,876 patients who had heart bypass surgery at 62 medical centers in 16 nations.
Over five years, 20.8 percent of the aprotinin patients died, versus 12.7 percent of the patients who received no anti-bleeding drug. It was also revealed that patients who got Trasylol ran a 48 percent higher risk of dying in the five years afterward.
