Two drugs commonly given during cardiac surgery can lead to convulsive seizures, but anesthetics can help cut the risk, according to new research from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Patients undergoing complex heart operations or trauma surgery are often given tranexamic acid (TXA) and aminocaproic acid (EACA) to reduce blood loss. But Faculty of Medicine researchers found these drugs are associated with a four-to-six-fold increase in post-operative seizures. The risk is highest for cardiac surgery patients -- between three and seven and a half per cent have seizures after arriving in the intensive care unit.
