Do exclusively breastfed infants have vitamin K deficiency? On the 20th anniversary of studying the background

Abstract

Background. Are breast-fed infants vitamin K deficient? F.R. Greer raised this question in 2001 in his classic study. The purpose of the study was to determine the concentration of prothrombin induced by vitamin K absence II (PIVKA-II) and prothrombin complex indices as latent vitamin K deficiency markers in exclusively breastfed infants (first 6 months of life). Materials and me­thods. A total of 264 children aged 0 to 6 months were examined, they were in a satisfactory state and had unchanged general blood tests and hepatobiliary tests. Results. In the early neonatal period, 62 (83.8 %) of 74 children who did not receive vitamin K had ­PIVKA-II score above 40 mAU/ml. In 17 (77.3 %) of 22 babies aged 8 to 28 days who did not receive vitamin K after birth, PIVKA-II was within normal limits. In 92 % of 31 infants who received prophylactic vitamin K1 boluses, PIVKA-II was normal in the first week of life, in 12 (54.5 %) of 22 children aged 28 to 180 days who were examined after antibiotic treatment, PIVKA-II is higher than normal. The use of antibiotics in children was associated with elevated concentrations of PIVKA-II, which may indicate a latent acquired vitamin K deficiency or one, which is renewed after birth. The study of the prothrombin complex according to median and quartile estimates (Me, 25–75) in these children established a decrease in prothrombin content by Quick to 62 % (18–91 %), an increase in prothrombin time to 18 s (13–22 s), and an increase in international normalized ratio to 1.4 (1.1–2.6). Conclusions. Thus, children of this group deve­loped hypocoagulation that together with other adverse conditions may lead to the development of late hemorrhagic disease.

Keywords

• РIVKA-II
• breastfeeding
• prothrombin complex
• vitamin K deficiency