Yale Bulletin and Calendar

September 17, 2004|Volume 33, Number 3

Study: Drug aprotinin reduces risk of
stroke during artery bypass graft surgery

Treating patients with a drug called aprotinin reduces the risk of stroke by 47% in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, according to a study published in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

The study, a large-scale analysis evaluating data from 35 CABG studies, determined that use of aprotinin reduced the need for a blood transfusion by 39%. Blood transfusions during CABG surgery have been associated with an increased risk of stroke. Stroke and neurological injury occurs in 5% of the more than 300,000 CABG surgeries performed annually.

"Our results highlight that aprotinin therapy might be recommended in all primary CABG surgeries after applicability to individual centers and patients is considered," says lead investigator Dr. Artyom Sedrakyan, researcher at the School of Medicine and lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. "About 10 strokes could be avoided in every 1,000 CABG patients with the use of aprotinin, which is a substantial stroke reduction benefit."

The study also showed that aprotinin therapy was associated with a trend toward reduced atrial fibrillation and did not increase the risk of adverse events including mortality, myocardial infarction and renal failure.

"The cerebroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of aprotinin therapy in CABG surgery, associated with improved neurological outcomes, have been reported in previous studies," says Sedrakyan, who did his work in the cardiothoracic department at Yale. "Our study further indicates that the balance of effects is positive with aprotinin use. Future studies should address the cost-effectiveness of this medication as it is substantially more costly in America as compared to the United Kingdom or the rest of Europe."

Patients undergoing CABG surgery may be exposed to thousands of cerebral blood clots, which significantly increase the risk of stroke. Stroke associated with this type of surgery results in longer hospital stays, increased need for long-term care and a 20% increase in hospital mortality rates. In addition, strokes occurring several days after CABG surgery represent almost 25% of all cardiac surgery-related strokes.

-- By Karen Peart

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Yale employee's new home is the result of . . .

Neurologist Lo wins Presidential Early Career Award

Exhibit explore mysteries of the giant squid

Series will introduce new World Fellows to Yale community

Levin reports improvements in U.S. visa procedures

Grant funds study exploring the link between . . .

Yale professor's watercolors featured in JE exhibit

Bruce Carmichael is appointed an assistant provost

In Focus: Department of Surgery

Renowned writer Norman Mailer to make campus appearance

Scholars will examine the iconic career of pop star . . .

Life is portrayed as a messy affair in Rep's 'Clean House'

Fast-paced opera 'thriller' will make its American debut at Yale

Yale to give matching grant of $100,000 . . .

2003-2004 Yale United Way Donors

Artist's paintings explore common human bonds

Conference to celebrate birth of the 'founder of humanism'

Researchers find that the media's science reporting is politically biased

Grants will support two ongoing preservation projects at Yale Library

President appoints search committee for next dean of the School of Nursing

Study: Drug aprotinin reduces risk of stroke . . .

Yale scientists bring quantum optics to a microchip

IN MEMORIAM