When a drug hits the market that is described as a success -- it is not too often that those in the medical profession turn against use of the drug and boycott it's sale. This is exactly what happened with Trasylol Aprotinin, an injectable drug that controls blood in individuals undergoing heart surgery. Reports of the drugs side effects, which included stroke, heart attack and death, surfaced; and like a rock dropping into a lake, the dangers of Trasylol rippled throughout the medical community.

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 Washington Post article reported that after 12 of 64 clinical trials, Trasylol's positive advantages over other drugs was clear, as the article claimed blood transfusion ins among bypass patients decreased by nearly one-third. 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, once the New England Journal of Medicine study on Trasylol-Aprotinin was published on the risks of approximately 1,000 heart surgery patients, the drug's use began to diminish. Once the study was published, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began investigating the alleged side effects and, even after protests by Bayer officials claiming the results of the study were inaccurate, the FDA began discouraging the use of Trasylol-Aprotinin among patients.

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?

Gaining the perspective of an experience pharmaceutical attorney who can consult you on your experience with Trasylol-Aprotinin will allow the potential for monetary compensation for the costly medical bills attributed to these damaging side effects. It is advisable to speak with an experienced Trasylol lawyer who can consult on the details of a lawsuit and potential monetary compensation.