Haemorrhagic disease of the newborn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Haemorrhagic disease of the newborn Classification and external resources |
|
 |
|
|---|---|
| Vitamin K1 | |
| ICD-10 | P53. |
| ICD-9 | 776.0 |
| DiseasesDB | 29544 |
| eMedicine | ped/966 |
| MeSH | D006475 |
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.
[edit] Causes
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).
[edit] Presentation
The disease causes an increased risk of bleeding. The most common sites of bleeding are the umbilicus, mucous membranes, gastrointestinal tract, circumcision and venipunctures.
[edit] Treatment
Treatment consists of vitamin K supplementation. This is often given prophylactically newborns shortly after birth.
 |
This disease article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
