Severe anaphylactic shock due to repeated application of aprotinin in patients following intrathoracic aortic replacement.

Aprotinin is known to significantly reduce the incidence of perioperative bleeding complications in cardiac, thoracic and vascular surgery. Despite the wide use of this medication in other surgical fields, there are only a few reports of serious adverse side effects. In this paper we report on two patients with severe anaphylactic shock due to repeated administration of aprotinin, who both required cardiopulmonary resuscitation.