This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Jack B. Alperin, MD

JAMA. 1987;258(14):1916-1919.

Abstract
A coagulopathy due to vitamin K deficiency was discovered in 42 hospitalized patients, most of whom had been misdiagnosed as having disseminated intravascular coagulation. Factors contributing to vitamin deficiency included inadequate diet, malabsorption, failure of physicians to prescribe vitamin K supplements, antibiotic therapy, renal insufficiency, hepatic dysfunction, recent major surgery, and possibly pregnancy. Sixteen patients (34%) bled sufficiently to need red blood cell transfusions and ten patients (24%) ultimately died. Of 18 patients who also had thrombocytopenia, three did have disseminated intravascular coagulation. The deficiency, a contributor to morbidity and mortality, can be prevented by prophylactic administration of vitamin K to severely ill patients who are eating inadequately and receiving antibiotics.

(JAMA 1987;258:1916-1919)

Author Affiliations
From the Division of Hematology-Oncology, the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston.

Footnotes
Reprints not available.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Successful Recovery After an Overdose of Argatroban
Yee and Kuter
The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 2006;40:336-339.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Vitamin K Deficiency in Severely Disabled Children
Yoshikawa et al.
J Child Neurol 2003;18:93-97.
ABSTRACT  

Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults: Scientific Review
Fairfield and Fletcher
JAMA 2002;287:3116-3126.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Fortnightly Review: Disseminated intravascular coagulation: diagnosis and treatment
Baglin
BMJ 1996;312:683-686.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Hazards of Small Amounts of Heparin in a Patient with Subclinical Vitamin K Deficiency
Shah and Schwarz
JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr 1989;13:324-325.
ABSTRACT  

CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS MAY NEED VITAMIN K SUPPLEMENTS
JWatch General 1987;1987:2-2.
FULL TEXT