Association of Broad-Spectrum Antibiotic Therapy and Vitamin E Supplementation with Vitamin K Deficiency-Induced Coagulopathy: A Case Report and Narrative Review of the Literature

Vitamin K is a lipid-soluble vitamin that is normally maintained within appropriate levels by means of dietary intake and bacterial production in the intestinal microflora. It holds a central role in coagulation homeostasis, and thus its depletion leads to hypocoagulation and haemorrhagic diathesis. The association of antibiotic therapy and vitamin E supplementation with vitamin K deficiency was previously described in animal experiments, clinical studies, and case reports. Broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy potentially leads to intestinal microflora dysbiosis and restriction of vitamin K-producing bacterial populations, resulting in decreased vitamin K levels, whereas antibiotics of the cephalosporin class with 1-N-methyl-5-thiotetrazole (NMTT) or 2-methyl-1,3,4-thiadiazole (MTD) side groups inhibit vitamin K function. Vitamin E supplementation interferes with both the bioavailability and function of vitamin K, yet its mechanisms are not fully understood. We present the case of a 45-year-old male patient, with a history of epilepsy and schizophrenia, catatonically incapacitated and immobilised, who was hospitalised in our centre for the investigation and management of aspiration pneumonia. He demonstrated a progressively worsening prolongation of international normalised ratio (INR), which was attributed to both broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy and vitamin E supplementation and was reversed upon administration of vitamin K. We highlight the need for close monitoring of coagulation parameters in patients receiving broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy, especially those with underlying malnutritive or malabsorptive conditions, and we further recommend the avoidance of NMTT- or MTD-containing antibiotics or vitamin E supplementation, unless absolutely necessary, in those patients.