Vitamin K deficiency
Alerts and Notices
Synopsis
*In neonates, vitamin K deficiency is a potentially life-threatening emergency.*
Infants are at highest risk for vitamin K deficiency due to low levels of transmission across the placenta, low levels in breast milk, and inefficient production of vitamin K in the colon due to low levels of colonic bacteria. Infants with vitamin K deficiency present with hemorrhagic disease of the newborn at days 1-7 of life with intracranial or retroperitoneal hemorrhage, petechiae, or mucosal bleeding. An acute form associated with maternal medications that inhibit vitamin K synthesis (some antiepileptic agents) may present in the first 48 hours of life, and a delayed form can be seen out to several months from birth, generally exclusively in breast-fed babies whose parents decline to use prophylactic vitamin K supplementation.
In adults, vitamin K deficiency is generally due to dietary insufficiency or malabsorption syndromes. Conditions such as celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, ulcerative colitis, short gut syndrome, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and primary biliary cholangitis can impair absorption. Chronic antibiotic use and total parenteral nutrition (TPN) dependence are other causes. Adults with vitamin K deficiency present with easy bleeding, mucosal bleeding, or easy bruising.
Codes
ICD10CM:E56.1 – Deficiency of vitamin K
SNOMEDCT:
12546009 – Hemorrhagic disease of the newborn due to vitamin K deficiency
52675005 – Vitamin K deficiency
Look For
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Diagnostic Pearls
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Differential Diagnosis & Pitfalls
- Warfarin, heparin, rat poison, or other blood thinner use
- Von Willebrand disease
- Scurvy
- Liver disease
- Early disseminated intravascular coagulation
- Fibrinolysis
- Other causes of bleeding, including leukemias
Best Tests
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Management Pearls
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Therapy
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Drug Reaction Data
Below is a list of drugs with literature evidence indicating an adverse association with this diagnosis. The list is continually updated through ongoing research and new medication approvals. Click on Citations to sort by number of citations or click on Medication to sort the medications alphabetically.Subscription Required
References
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Last Reviewed:02/06/2018
Last Updated:03/14/2018
Last Updated:03/14/2018