[Effect of aprotinin on blood loss reduction after extracorporeal circulation].

High-dose aprotinin has been reported to reduce blood loss after extracorporeal circulation (ECC). However, the hemostatic mechanism of aprotinin remains unknown. We administered aprotinin to 25 patients during coronary artery bypass surgery and examined the blood loss in comparison with that in a control group of 25 patients. On the basis of an experimental study on the effects of aprotinin, 30,000 KIU/kg of aprotinin was infused as the initial ECC dose and 7,500 KIU/kg/h was continuously administered as the maintenance dose from the beginning to the end of ECC. Aprotinin was not used before ECC. Serial blood samples were collected during and after the operation in both groups to examine various coagulation and fibrinolysis system parameters. Blood loss during and 6 hours after the operation and the total blood requirement were significantly lower in the aprotinin group than in the control. There was no difference between the two groups in terms of hemoglobin, platelet count, ACT, and thrombin-antithrombin III complex level. The aprotinin group showed a significantly higher level of alpha 2 (total) plasmin inhibitor and a significantly lower level of plasmin-alpha 2 plasmin inhibitor complex and D-dimer during ECC. These findings indicated that although the coagulation system function was accelerated during ECC, the fibrinolysis function system was suppressed by the administration of aprotinin, which resulted in a reduction of blood loss.