title: Urinary excretion of vitamin K metabolites in term and preterm infants: relationship to vitamin K status and prophylaxis.
abstract: Little is known about the metabolic turnover and excretion of vitamin K in healthy newborn infants and the metabolic consequences of prophylactic regimens designed to protect against vitamin K deficiency bleeding (VKDB). We measured the excretion of two urinary metabolites (≤ 24 h) of vitamin K (5C- and 7C-aglycones) in term infants before (n = 11) and after (n = 5) a 1000 μg i.m. dose of vitamin K1 (K1) and in preterm infants after 200 μg i.m. (n = 4), 500 μg i.m. (n = 4), or 200 μg i.v. (n = 5). In preterm infants, we also measured serum K1, vitamin K1 2,3-epoxide, and PIVKA-II at 5 d postpartum. Before prophylaxis, the rate of 5C- and 7C-aglycone excretion was 25 times lower than adults, reflecting low vitamin K stores at birth. After prophylaxis, the excretion rate correlated to K1 dose (r = 0.6) but was two orders of magnitude lower than that in adults, probably reflecting the immaturity of neonatal catabolism. All term and 10 of 13 preterm infants mainly excreted 5C-aglycone. We present evidence that increased excretion of the 7C-aglycone was associated with metabolic overload because of the exposure to high-tissue K1 concentrations. Measurement of the 5C- and 7C-aglycones may facilitate longitudinal studies of vitamin K status in neonates and aid the development of improved prophylactic regimens.
authors.affiliation: The Nutristasis Unit, St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Dominic Jon
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Card
authors.forename: Simon J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Martin J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Shearer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn / Q000652:urine*; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000652:urine*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D014812:Vitamin K / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D010837:Vitamin K 1 / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006475:Vitamin K Deficiency Bleeding / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D014812:Vitamin K; D010837:Vitamin K 1