[Decreased prothrombin coagulation activities in breast-fed children?].

Intracranial bleeding due to vitamin K deficiency in infants without prior symptoms of disease has been reported. All of these children were fully breastfed. To evaluate a potential deficit of vitamin K dependent coagulation factors in fully breastfed infants we determined the prothrombin clotting times in healthy babies on the 5th day (n = 204) and in the 5th week of life and correlated the results to the feeding. On the fifth day of life prothrombin coagulation times in fully breastfed infants were significantly longer than in babies receiving formula exclusively or additionally. Vitamin K supply in fully breastfed neonates should therefore be reinvestigated. In the 5th week of life, however, there was no difference in prothrombin coagulation times between fully breastfed infants and infants with exclusive or supplementary formula feeding.