Comparison of Aprotinin and Tranexamic Acid in Routine Cardiac Surgery

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery Clinical Trial

Official title: The Influence of High-Dose Aprotinin and Tranexamic Acid on Bleeding Tendency and Allogeneic Blood Transfusion in Patients Undergoing Primary Aortic Valve Replacement or Coronary Artery Revascularization

Status Active, not recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

The hypothesis of this study is that the antifibrinolytic drugs aprotinin and tranexamic acid equally influence bleeding tendency and transfusion requirement in patients undergoing first time cardiac procedures with a low risk of increased postoperative bleeding.Only patients undergoing first time CABG or first time aortic valve replacement are included in this study.

Clinical Trial Description

Excessive bleeding during and after cardiac surgery is a serious complication. It exposes patients to the risk of allogeneic blood transfusion or other blood products and the risk of mediastinal re-exploration.Antifibrinolytic drugs like aprotinin and tranexamic acid are proven to reduce bleeding tendency and transfusion requirement in cardiac surgery. The efficacy of these drugs is proven, especially for the unspecific proteinase inhibitor aprotinin, however, there are concerns about the safety and the high costs of this drug. There are only limited head-to-head comparisons of these two drugs.

In this double-blind, prospective, controlled study the efficacy of aprotinin and tranexamic acid is compared. Primary outcome is the 24 hours postoperative drainage blood loss and the percentage of patients requiring allogeneic blood transfusion during the hospital stay. Subgroups of patients undergoing CABG surgery or aortic valve replacement are predefined for combined and separate data analysis.The power of the study is calculated for this subgroup-analysis.

Secondary outcome measurements are molecular marker of activation of hemostasis up to the 5th postoperative day. ;

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Double-Blind, Primary Purpose: Prevention

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Allogeneic Blood Transfusion
• Aortic Valve Replacement
• Bleeding and Cardiac Surgery
• Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

• NCT number: NCT00396760
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: German Heart Center
• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Phase: Phase 3
• Start date: January 2005
• Completion date: July 2006