Coagulopathy by vitamin K deficiency: Clinical pitfall in a case with cerebral palsy under long-term enteral nutrition

Background

Vitamin K deficiency is common in patients with neurological impairment under long-term enteral nutrition; however, reports of vitamin K deficiency in pediatric patients under long-term enteral nutrition remain limited, and critical conditions potentially leading to coagulopathy have not been sufficiently acknowledged by healthcare professionals.

Case presentation

We report the case of a seven-year-old girl with severe cerebral palsy who had received enteral nutrition via a nasoduodenal tube due to recurrent acute pancreatitis that had persisted for six months, and who had received an elemental diet for seven weeks prior to her presentation. After two days of cefmetazole treatment for urinary tract infection, abnormal coagulation findings, including a prolonged prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and elevated levels of protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II, were detected. The patient's hypoprothrombinemia improved after the intravenous administration of vitamin K and switching antibiotics. From a retrospective point of view, her intake of vitamin K over the past six months was below the recommended amount for her age.

Conclusions

Long-term enteral nutrition is associated with an increased risk of coagulopathy due to vitamin K deficiency, which can be precipitated by prolonged use of antibacterial agents. When long-term enteral nutrition is given to patients with severe motor or intellectual disabilities, caution should be exercised when using antibiotics with NMTT side chains.