title: Efficacy of aprotinin in reducing blood loss in spinal fusion for idiopathic scoliosis.
abstract: Aprotinin is a proteinase inhibitor with antifibrinolytic properties that has found widespread application during cardiac surgical procedures due to its ability to decrease blood loss and transfusion requirements. Recently it has been used by orthopedic surgeons in hip replacement and other major surgeries except for scoliosis surgery, which is known to be associated with major blood loss. To evaluate the effect of aprotinin in reducing blood loss during spinal fusion surgery for idiopathic scoliosis, a double-blind randomized prospective clinical study was performed. Forty-three patients with idiopathic scoliosis underwent spinal fusion and instrumentation and were divided randomly into two groups. Fifteen patients received aprotinin, whereas 28 patients received placebo. The aprotinin group had less blood loss than the placebo group. The transfusion requirement was less in the aprotinin group than the placebo group. Although the difference was not significant statistically, the benefit of aprotinin in reducing blood loss in spinal surgery for idiopathic scoliosis was consistent.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, University of Ottawa, Canada.
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Khoshhal
authors.forename: Iftikhar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Mukhtar
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jarvis
authors.forename: Merv
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Letts
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Splinter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D007611:Aprotinin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016063:Blood Loss, Surgical / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001810:Blood Volume; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000601:surgery*; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D007611:Aprotinin