One dose of vitamin K reduced clinical bleeding at 1 - 7 days , including bleeding after circumcision , and improved biochemical indices of coagulation status .
There was no evidence of a difference between the oral and intramuscular route in effects on biochemical indices of coagulation status .
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS A single dose ( 1.0 mg ) of intramuscular vitamin K after birth is effective in the prevention of classic HDN .
Either intramuscular or oral ( 1.0 mg ) vitamin K prophylaxis improves biochemical indices of coagulation status at 1 - 7 days .
Neither intramuscular nor oral vitamin K has been tested in r and omized trials with respect to effect on late HDN .
Oral vitamin K , either single or multiple dose , has not been tested in r and omized trials for its effect on either classic or late HDN
BACKGROUND  Vitamin K deficiency can cause bleeding in an infant in the first weeks of life .
This is known as Hemorrhagic Disease of the Newborn ( HDN ) .
HDN is divided into three categories : early , classic and late HDN .
Early HDN occurs within 24 hours post partum and falls outside the scope of this review .
Classic HDN occurs on days one to seven ; common bleeding sites are gastrointestinal , cutaneous , nasal and from a circumcision .
Late HDN occurs from week 2 - 12 ; the most common bleeding sites are intracranial , cutaneous , and gastrointestinal .
Vitamin K is commonly given prophylactically after birth for the prevention of HDN , but the preferred route is uncertain .
OBJECTIVES To review the evidence from r and omized trials in order to determine the effectiveness of vitamin K prophylaxis in the prevention of classic and late HDN .
Main questions are : Is one dose of vitamin K , given after birth , able to significantly reduce the incidence of classic and late HDN ?
Is there a significant difference between the oral route and the intramuscular route in preventing classic and late HDN ?
Are multiple oral doses of vitamin K , given after birth , able to significantly reduce the incidence of classic and late HDN ?
Effects of oral and intramuscular vitamin K prophylaxis on PIVKA-II assay parameters in breastfed infants in Turkey.
Protein induced by vitamin K absence ( PIVKA-II ) has been used for the evaluation of vitamin K deficiency in the newborn . Differing PIVKA-II detection rates in various studies on hemorrhagic disease of the newborn have not been explained satisfactorily . In this study we investigated the PIVKA-II values of 44 healthy breastfed infants , of whom 29 received vitamin K1 either orally ( N = 13 ) or intramuscularly ( n = 16 ) , and the remaining 15 constituted the  control group .  PIVKA-II was detected in 15.3 percent ( 2/13 ) of the oral and 25 percent of the ( 4/16 ) intramuscular group on the third day of life . The detection rate was 93.3 percent ( 14/15 ) in the control group . However , at the one-month follow-up , there were no PIVKA-II positive infants . In conclusion , PIVKA-II positivity among breastfed Turkish infants on the third day of life was high compared to that in other studies , perhaps due to a delay in enzyme maturation related to racial , environmental and nutritional factors
One dose of vitamin K reduced clinical bleeding at 1 - 7 days , including bleeding after circumcision , and improved biochemical indices of coagulation status .
There was no evidence of a difference between the oral and intramuscular route in effects on biochemical indices of coagulation status .
REVIEW ER 'S CONCLUSIONS A single dose ( 1.0 mg ) of intramuscular vitamin K after birth is effective in the prevention of classic HDN .
Either intramuscular or oral ( 1.0 mg ) vitamin K prophylaxis improves biochemical indices of coagulation status at 1 - 7 days .
Neither intramuscular nor oral vitamin K has been tested in r and omized trials with respect to effect on late HDN .
Oral vitamin K , either single or multiple dose , has not been tested in r and omized trials for its effect on either classic or late HDN
BACKGROUND  Vitamin K deficiency can cause bleeding in an infant in the first weeks of life .
This is known as Hemorrhagic Disease of the Newborn ( HDN ) .
HDN is divided into three categories : early , classic and late HDN .
Early HDN occurs within 24 hours post partum and falls outside the scope of this review .
Classic HDN occurs on days one to seven ; common bleeding sites are gastrointestinal , cutaneous , nasal and from a circumcision .
Late HDN occurs from week 2 - 12 ; the most common bleeding sites are intracranial , cutaneous , and gastrointestinal .
Vitamin K is commonly given prophylactically after birth for the prevention of HDN , but the preferred route is uncertain .
OBJECTIVES To review the evidence from r and omized trials in order to determine the effectiveness of vitamin K prophylaxis in the prevention of classic and late HDN .
Main questions are : Is one dose of vitamin K , given after birth , able to significantly reduce the incidence of classic and late HDN ?
Is there a significant difference between the oral route and the intramuscular route in preventing classic and late HDN ?
Are multiple oral doses of vitamin K , given after birth , able to significantly reduce the incidence of classic and late HDN ?