Haemorrhagic disease of the newborn
Haemorrhagic disease of the newborn | |
Vitamin K1 | |
ICD-10 | P53 |
ICD-9 | 776.0 |
DiseasesDB | 29544 |
MeSH | D006475 |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Haemorrhagic disease of the newborn is a coagulation disturbance in newborns due to vitamin K deficiency. As a consequence of vitamin K deficiency there is an impaired production of coagulation factors II, VII, IX, X, C and S by the liver.
Pathophysiology
Newborns are relatively vitamin K deficient for a variety of reasons. They have low vitamin K stores at birth, vitamin K passes the placenta poorly, the levels of vitamin K in breast milk are low and the gut flora has not yet been developed (vitamin K is normally produced by bacteria in the intestines).
Diagnosis
Symptoms
The disease causes an increased risk of bleeding. The most common sites of bleeding are
Treatment
Treatment consists of vitamin K supplementation. This is often given prophylactically newborns shortly after birth.
References
Related Chapters
Template:Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period