Vitamin K - Can it really be given IV??

[DonnaBabyRN]

Is anyone giving prophylactic vitamin K to newborns intravenously? I work in a Level III NICU and we are developing a new micropreemie protocol for babies less than 28 weeks. One goal is to minimize noxious stimuli, and IM injections definitely qualify as noxious. We have been asked to look into possibly giving that first vitamin K IV after umbilical lines are placed.

If you do this, do you have research/evidence to back it up?

Thanks for the help!

[babyNP., APRN]

You can give phytonadione IV, but it's usually after you give the initial IM injection & want to give the kid another dose due to a bleeding issue. I wouldn't give it IV from the get-go routinely because you don't know how the kid is going to react on an IV form, which can cause an anaphylactic response.

[kp1987]

We give it IV if less than 1500g and IM if over 1500g