Overview
Introduction
Vitamin K prophylaxis is a standard newborn preventive intervention used to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding, or VKDB.
Vitamin K prophylaxis is a standard newborn preventive intervention used to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding, or VKDB. At the NP level, this topic requires more than knowing that phytonadione is “given after birth.” The NP must understand neonatal hemostasis, risk stratification, differential diagnosis for newborn bleeding, evidence-based prophylaxis, refusal counselling, oral-regimen limitations, and urgent management when VKDB is suspected. VKDB occurs when an infant has insufficient vitamin K to support normal clot formation. Bleeding may be external, such as oozing from the umbilical stump, heel-stick sites, or circumcision site, but it may also be internal and difficult to detect. The CDC notes that VKDB can involve bleeding into the intestines or brain and may result in brain damage or death.