Bleeding disorders associated with vitamin K deficiency
Bleeding disorders associated with vitamin K deficiency
Updated: 07/25/2023
© Jun Wang, MD, PhD
General features
- Bleeding disorders due to nutritional vitamin K deficiency or warfarin use
Clinical presentations
- History of nutritional deficiency or warfarin use
- Easy bruising
- Soft tissue hematoma
- Other bleeding symptoms
Key risk factors
- Fat malabsorption syndromes (vitamin K is a fat soluble vitamin)
- Malnutrition
- Antibiotics (destroy bacteria producing vitamin K or interfere with vitamin K carboxylation)
- Newborn: Lack of VK in breast milk, or malabsorption caused by cholestasis, etc
- Warfarin associated inhibition of regeneration of the active form of vitamin K
- For Warfarin using patients: > 65, other conditions (atrial fibrillation, GI bleeding, cerebrovascular disease, etc), concomitant medications (aspirin, amiodarone)
Key pathogenesis
- Impaired production of active factors II, VII, IX and X and proteins C and S
- Warfarin inhibits vitamin K reductase, reduced level of reduced vitamin K, that is needed for vitamin K dependent carboxylase
Key Laboratory findings
- Mild: Prolonged PT, normal aPTT
- Severe: Prolonged PT and aPTT
Management
- Factors replacement: Fresh frozen plasma, etc
- Vitamin K supplementation
- Treatment of underlying diseases
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