Is ε-Aminocaproic Acid as Effective as Aprotinin in Reducing Bleeding With Cardiac Surgery?

Abstract

Background —Although aprotinin is known to be effective in reducing postoperative hemorrhage after cardiac surgery, ε-aminocaproic acid, an alternative antifibrinolytic, is considerably less expensive. Because the results of 3 small randomized clinical trials comparing these 2 agents directly were inconclusive, we performed a meta-analysis to compare the relative effectiveness and adverse-effect profile of these 2 agents against placebo. Methods and Results —Data from 52 randomized clinical trials published between 1985 and 1998 involving the use of ε-aminocaproic acid (n=9) or aprotinin (n=46) in patients undergoing cardiac surgery were abstracted. Our primary outcomes were total blood loss, red blood cell transfusion rates and amounts, reexploration, stroke, myocardial infarction, and mortality. The meta-analysis revealed substantial reductions in total blood loss with ε-aminocaproic acid and low-dose aprotinin (each with a 35% reduction versus placebo, P <0.001) and high-dose aprotinin (53% reduction, P <0.001). There were identical reductions in total postoperative transfusions with ε-aminocaproic acid (61% reduction versus placebo, P <0.010) and high-dose aprotinin (62% reduction, P <0.001). The proportion of patients transfused was similarly reduced with ε-aminocaproic acid (OR, 0.32; 95% CI, 0.15 to 0.69) and high-dose aprotinin (OR, 0.28; 0.22 to 0.37). Although both drugs reduced rates of reexploration to similar degrees, this effect was statistically significant only with high-dose aprotinin (OR, 0.39; 0.24 to 0.61). ε-Aminocaproic acid and aprotinin had no effect on risks of postoperative myocardial infarction or overall mortality. Conclusions —Because the 2 antifibrinolytic agents appear to have similar efficacies, the considerably less-expensive ε-aminocaproic acid may be preferred over aprotinin for reducing hemorrhage with cardiac surgery.