Effectiveness and Safety of Aprotinin Use in Thoracic Aortic Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness and safety of aprotinin use in adult patients undergoing thoracic aortic surgery.

DESIGN: Single-center, retrospective study.

SETTING: All cases performed at a single university hospital.

PARTICIPANTS: Between January 2004 and December 2014, 846 adult patients underwent thoracic aortic surgery. Due to missing or duplicated data on primary outcomes, 314 patients were excluded. The final sample of 532 patients underwent surgery on the thoracic aorta.

INTERVENTIONS: The patients were divided in the following 2 groups: 107 patients (20.1%) received aprotinin during the surgery, which represented the study group, whereas the remaining 425 patients (79.9%) underwent surgery without the use of aprotinin.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: To adjust for patient selection and preoperative characteristics, a propensity score-matched analysis was conducted. Mean total blood loss at 12 hours after surgery was similar between the 2 groups. The blood product transfusion rates did not differ in the 2 groups, except for the rate of fresh frozen plasma transfusion being significantly higher in the aprotinin group. Re-exploration for bleeding and the incidence of a major postoperative bleeding event were similar between the groups. Rates of in-hospital mortality, renal failure, and cerebrovascular accidents did not show any statistically significant difference. Aprotinin did not represent a risk factor for mortality over the long term (hazard ratio 1.14, 95% confidence interval 0.62-2.08, p = 0.66).

CONCLUSIONS: The use of aprotinin demonstrated a limited effect in reducing postoperative bleeding and prevention of major bleeding events. Aprotinin did not adversely affect early outcomes and long-term survival.