[Ticlopidine in heart surgery with cardiopulmonary by-pass (author's transl)]

An interesting potential use of platelet aggregation inhibitors lies in the prevention of the thrombotic process originating in the oxygenator of the cardiopulmonary by-pass apparatus used in cardiac surgery. A 5-day course of ticlopidine HCl immediately before surgery results in a significant reduction in the thrombopenia usually observed and attributed to platelet aggregation and adhesion to the apparatus. Biological investigations have failed to show interference of the drug with coagulation factors, and no unwanted effect on per and post-operative bleeding was observed. Cardiopulmonary by-pass appeared in this study as an excellent model to test the clinical effectiveness of anti-aggregation compounds.