Hemorrhagic disease of the newborn: an unusual etiology of neonatal bleeding

Ann Emerg Med. 1986 Aug;15(8):935-8. doi: 10.1016/s0196-0644(86)80680-1.

Abstract

Emergency physicians may encounter presentations of bleeding in the neonate that have multifactorial etiologies. A case of a 15-day-old male infant with umbilical bleeding that exhibited many of the characteristic features of hemorrhagic disease of the newborn (nonmedically attended birth, breastfeeding, no definite history of Vitamin K administration, bleeding from iatrogenic puncture sites, and isolated prolongation of the prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time) is presented. A differential diagnosis and laboratory evaluation of bleeding in the newborn are summarized, and treatment recommendations for hemorrhagic disease of the newborn are discussed.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Blood Coagulation Tests
  • Delivery, Obstetric
  • Hemorrhage / etiology*
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Injections, Intramuscular
  • Male
  • Midwifery
  • Umbilicus*
  • Vitamin K / administration & dosage
  • Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding / complications*
  • Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding / epidemiology
  • Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding / prevention & control

Substances

  • Vitamin K