Heparin Alternatives

Heparin is a blood thinner used in a number of surgical procedures. It is the most commonly used anticoagulant today. Though it has been around for decades, problems were first noted in 2007 when patients began reporting allergic reactions. The problem was traced to contamination in the Chinese production sites.

What is Heparin?

• Heparin is found in the liver and lungs as a naturally produced substance. It can also be manufactured. It is the manufactured heparin that is used for surgical procedures.

Uses of Heparin

• A common use of heparin is to prevent blood clotting in patients undergoing dialysis. Without it, patients would lose more blood than necessary and that would make their anemia worse. It is used to flush clots from cardiac catheters.

When the Problems Occurred

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said that most of the patients who had reactions to heparin had received it in high doses. It was recommended that the lowest dose possible be used and that it be administered slowly.

Heparin From a Different Source

• It was heparin manufactured by Baxter International that caused the problems. However, APP Pharmaceuticals in Illinois also manufactures heparin. Because APP's heparin had no problems, the FDA requested that the company increase its production to offset the reduction on production of heparin from Baxter.

Other Alternatives

• If Baxter heparin needed to be used, the FDA recommended that steroids and antihistamines be used to prevent reactions to the heparin. Warfarin, which is a synthetic derivative of coumarin, has been suggested as possible substitute for heparin. It is an oral anticoagulant. Hirudin, a clone of a leech protein, and Danaparoid, which is similar to heparin, are two promising substitutes, but they have not been approved as of summer 2009.