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.
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Use http://trasylol-aprotinin.legalview.com to garner more
information on this ongoing investigation. Also use
LegalView's other information portals to learn about
controversial drugs similar to Trasylol Aprotinin such as
the Avandia risks, found at http://avandia.legalview.com ,
or the Vytorin and Zetia side effects.
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