Mini-dose pump-prime aprotinin inhibited enhanced fibrinolytic activity and reduced blood loss and transfusion requirements after coronary artery bypass surgery.

Objectives: Low-dose aprotinin in the pump during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has been shown to improve postoperative hemostasis and platelet preservation. This investigation was undertaken to evaluate the effects of mini-dose pump prime only aprotinin (70 mg) on the hemostatic parameters and blood transfusion requirements in patients undergoing on-pump coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG).

Materials And Methods: We studied 86 patients who underwent CABG. Forty patients received mini-dose aprotinin (500.000 KIU [70 mg] in the pump), and a control group of 46 did not. D-dimer level, full blood count, postoperative blood loss, and transfusion requirements were analyzed before, after one hour operation and first day after operation.

Results: Twenty-four-hour postoperative blood loss was significantly reduced in the aprotinin group (188+/- 51.5 ml vs. 818+/- 243.5 ml, [mean +/- standard deviation] p < 0.01). Patients in the aprotinin group also received significantly less banked blood posoperatively than the control group (1.20 +/- 0.52 vs. 3.33 +/- 1.13 Units/per patient (p < 0.04). One hour after operation, and 24 hours after operation D-dimer level was significantly reduced in the aprotinin group (p < 0.008 and p < 0.017, respectively).

Conclusions: Mini dose pump-prime aprotinin reduces postoperative blood loss, transfusion requirements and yet confers hemostatic improvement through reduced fibrinolysis in patients undergoing routine coronary artery bypass grafting.