254
in cardiac surgery SiR,—The letter by Dr Carrel and colleagues (March 16, p 673) on the use of low-dose aprotinin during cardiac surgery prompts us
Aprotinin
report our results. We have done a randomised trial to assess the effect of different doses of aprotinin on blood loss and transfusion requirements. 38 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery were randomly divided into three groups: group A (n = 12) was treated with aprotinin 2 x 106 KIU (kallikrein-inactiving units) within the sternotomy plus 2 x 106 KIU in the pump prime plus 500 000 KIU/h as a continuous intravenous infusion until the end of the operation; group B (n = 13) received 500 000 KIU/h as a continuous infusion from the induction of anaesthesia to the end of the operation; and group C (n = 13) did not receive aprotinin. These three groups did not differ with respect to age, sex, physical state, anaesthetic, or surgical bypass technique. We measured total blood loss, haemoglobin lost in the drainage (spectrophotometry technique), and units of blood transfused perioperatively. Significant differences were found between groups 1 and 2 (p
in cardiac surgery SiR,—The letter by Dr Carrel and colleagues (March 16, p 673) on the use of low-dose aprotinin during cardiac surgery prompts us
Aprotinin
report our results. We have done a randomised trial to assess the effect of different doses of aprotinin on blood loss and transfusion requirements. 38 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery were randomly divided into three groups: group A (n = 12) was treated with aprotinin 2 x 106 KIU (kallikrein-inactiving units) within the sternotomy plus 2 x 106 KIU in the pump prime plus 500 000 KIU/h as a continuous intravenous infusion until the end of the operation; group B (n = 13) received 500 000 KIU/h as a continuous infusion from the induction of anaesthesia to the end of the operation; and group C (n = 13) did not receive aprotinin. These three groups did not differ with respect to age, sex, physical state, anaesthetic, or surgical bypass technique. We measured total blood loss, haemoglobin lost in the drainage (spectrophotometry technique), and units of blood transfused perioperatively. Significant differences were found between groups 1 and 2 (p
