What's the adverse effect of excess dose of vitamin K, if given in new born?
Answer: Neonates - In infants (particularly premature babies), excessive doses of vitamin K analogs during the first few days of life may cause severe hemolytic anemia; this in turn may result in hyperbilirubinemia, kernicterus, leading to brain damage or even death.
Why?
Vitamin K reacts with sulfhydryl groups of proteins and causes toxicity.
Immaturity is apparently an important factor in toxic reactions to vitamin K analogs, as full term and larger premature infants show greater tolerance than smaller premature infants.
Cool fact: Apparently, large doses of vitamin K or its analogues may further depress liver function in patients with severe hepatic disease and thereby further decrease the concentration of prothrombin :O
What is the association of vitamin K with bleeding in new borns?
Answer: Vitamin K deficiency will cause hemorrhagic disease of new born.
"hyperbilirubinemia; this in turn may result in severe hemolytic anemia" . I could not find the mechanism for this. Can you please explain?
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for the poorly worded statement.
DeleteWhat we meant was that Vitamin K can cause hemolytic anemia. The breakdown of RBCs (Hemolysis) can cause indirect hyperbilirubinemia.