Vitamin K deficiency bleeding in infancy [letter]

Vitamin K deficiency bleeding in infancy (haemorrhagic disease of infancy) is an uncommon entity. It may mimic relatively commoner diseases like immune thrombocytopenic purpura leukaemia and haemophilia; therefore the entity is likely to be missed or overlooked. In this communication 10 infants of late hemorrhagic disease of infancy detected during a 14 months period (June 1994-- August 1995) are reported. Ten infants aged 2 1/2-11 months (mean age 6 months) were diagnosed to be suffering from vitamin K deficiency bleeding. Infants with a bleeding disorder satisfying the following criteria were included: 1. Prolonged prothrombin time (PT) and partial thromboplastin time (PTT) which normalised within 24 h of intravenous administration of 5 mg of vit K. 2. Normal platelet count. 3. Absence of septicaemia or liver disease. (excerpt)