Letter to the Editor

The unresolved safety concerns of bovine thrombin

Aryeh Shander and Mazyar Javidroozi

Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Hyperbaric Medicine, Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, Englewood, USA

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Patient Safety in Surgery 2008, 2:23doi:10.1186/1754-9493-2-23

Published:	22 September 2008

Abstract

A recent review has suggested that bovine thrombin is not associated with an increased risk of bleeding in surgical populations. In spite of extremely limited evidence available, many valuable resources (e.g. safety surveillance and post-marketing programs, case reports) were excluded in reaching this conclusion. While waiting for the adequately powered, controlled clinical trials to address the effects of bovine thrombin on bleeding and thrombotic events, the potential risk cannot be simply ignored. Rather, continued vigilance in the post-surgical setting for bleeding events that may be associated with the development of acquired coagulation factor inhibitors following bovine thrombin administration is warranted.