Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2020 Feb;10(2):153-158.
doi: 10.1542/hpeds.2019-0219. Epub 2020 Jan 6.

Oral Vitamin K Prophylaxis in Newborns: A Survey of Clinician Opinions and Practices

Jessica H Cheng  1 , Jaspreet Loyal  2 , Kelly E Wood  3 , Laura R Kair  4
Affiliations

Oral Vitamin K Prophylaxis in Newborns: A Survey of Clinician Opinions and Practices

Jessica H Cheng et al. Hosp Pediatr. 2020 Feb.

Abstract

Objectives: The majority of newborns in the United States receive intramuscular (IM) vitamin K for prophylaxis against vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB). Oral vitamin K is less effective than IM vitamin K in preventing VKDB but is widely used in Europe and by some in the United States when parents refuse IM vitamin K for their newborn. Our aim was to assess the practices, opinions, and knowledge of newborn clinicians regarding oral vitamin K prophylaxis when parents refuse IM vitamin K.

Methods: We conducted an electronic survey of newborn clinicians from 3 academic medical centers in California, Iowa, and Connecticut. Descriptive statistics and χ2 tests were performed.

Results: Of 160 newborn clinicians at 3 sites, 110 (69%) completed the survey. Of respondents, 58 (53%) believed the incidence of IM vitamin K refusal is increasing and had prescribed or recommended oral vitamin K at least once. Regarding knowledge, 32 (28%) and 23 (20%) respondents did not know whether oral vitamin K decreases the risk of early- and late-onset VKDB, respectively. There were no significant differences in opinions, knowledge, or practices across institutions or practice settings (NICU, well-newborn nursery, or both) (P > .05).

Conclusions: Our study findings suggest that newborn clinicians may lack knowledge about the effectiveness of oral vitamin K in preventing VKDB. More information is needed about oral vitamin K regimens and outcomes of newborns who receive oral vitamin K.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Dr Wood has a relationship with McGraw-Hill unrelated to this article; the other authors have indicated they have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Clinical knowledge of oral vitamin K. Percentages are out of n = 104 with 6 nonresponses.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Puckett RM, Offringa M. Prophylactic vitamin K for vitamin K deficiency bleeding in neonates. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000;(4):CD002776. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sankar MJ, Chandrasekaran A, Kumar P, Thukral A, Agarwal R, Paul VK. Vitamin K prophylaxis for prevention of vitamin K deficiency bleeding: a systematic review. J Perinatol. 2016;36(suppl 1):S29–S35 - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Nutrition. Vitamin K compounds and the water-soluble analogues: use in therapy and prophylaxis in pediatrics. Pediatrics. 1961;28(3):501–507
    1. Loyal J, Taylor JA, Phillipi CA, et al. Refusal of vitamin K by parents of newborns: a survey of the Better Outcomes through Research for Newborns Network. Acad Pediatr. 2017;17(4):368–373 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Eventov-Friedman S, Vinograd O, Ben-Haim M, Penso S, Bar-Oz B, Zisk-Rony RY. Parents’ knowledge and perceptions regarding vitamin K prophylaxis in newborns. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2013;35(5):409–413 - PubMed

Publication types