Aprotinin therapy for reoperative myocardial revascularization: A placebo-controlled study

Abstract We tested the efficacy and safety of aprotinin in 169 patients undergoing isolated reoperative myocardial revascularization. Patients were randomly assigned to high-dose aprotinin, low-dose aprotinin, or placebo treatment groups in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Treatment groups did not differ significantly with respect to age, sex, red cell mass, number of grafts, use of internal thoracic artery, or incidence of preoperative aspirin therapy. Patients treated with aprotinin had a significant reduction in postoperative chest tube drainage (720 ± 753, 866 ± 1,636, and 1,121 ± 683 mL, respectively, for high-dose aprotinin, low-dose aprotinin, and placebo; p p