title: Why we need a clinical trial for vitamin K.
abstract: Vitamin K is given to many babies born in the United Kingdom, but we still do not know if it has substantial hazards. Because the population exposed to vitamin K is very large even quite small hazards would involve many adverse events. It is therefore important to be able to put reasonably close bounds on the potential damage that vitamin K prophylaxis could cause. Past research has not allowed us to do this but a large randomised controlled clinical trial of vitamin K against no vitamin K, enrolling only infants at low risk of haemorrhagic disease, would do so. There is no question that vitamin K is a useful treatment in babies at highest risk of haemorrhagic disease: the question is whether the trend towards use of vitamin K in lower risk babies should be encouraged.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Edinburgh.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Slattery
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D014812:Vitamin K / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014813:Vitamin K Deficiency / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006475:Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding / Q000517:prevention & control; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D014812:Vitamin K