Death Rate Significantly Higher for Trasylol

According to a long awaited study published today, Bayer’s
Trasylol has a 53 percent higher death rate than other similar drugs. Trasylol
was withdrawn from the market in November after the drug was linked to kidney
problems and other serious adverse reactions including death. Trasylol is used
to reduce bleeding during heart surgery. Some experts believe that Trasylol
could be responsible for as many as 22,000 preventable deaths.

The BART study, published in the New England Journal of Medicinehad to be halted after preliminary results showed an increased risk
of death associated with Trasylol. The trial compared Trasylol with two
different less expensive drugs on 2,331 patients. The patients were randomly assigned
to one of the three drugs. Overwhelming concern from preliminary results
associated with Trasylol forced researchers to halt the study. It was not until
the study was published in this month’s NEJM that the true results were made
public.

A commentary accompanying the study, released online by the
New England Journal of Medicine, said the drug was unlikely to be returned to
the market.

Several lawsuits have been filed against Bayer
over Trasylol and many more will likely follow this report. If you or a loved
one has been injured as a result of being given Trasylol during surgery contact
Reich and Binstock today.