Aetiology

Body sources of vitamin K are low. Deficiency may develop within one week. The causes are those factors which interfere with the normal sources of the vitamin: (1)

• poor diet or starvation
• malabsorption - especially due to bile salt deficiency
• primary liver disease
• broad spectrum antibiotics - suppress normal colonic flora; commonly occurs post-operatively
• premature birth: due to the absence of bacteria in the gut which normally synthesize vitamin K2 in adults (2)

References

1. Marchili MR et al. Vitamin K deficiency: a case report and review of current guidelines. Ital J Pediatr. 2018 Mar 14;44(1):36
2. Ardell S et al. Prophylactic vitamin K for the prevention of vitamin K deficiency bleeding in preterm neonates. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Feb 5;2(2):CD008342.