Clinical Study Title:
Oral versus intramuscular phytomenadione: safety and efficacy compared.

Plain English Summary:

This study looked at the safety of vitamin K administration. Recent studies have indicated that vitamin K could be carcinogenic when given in injections. There are advantages to the use of an injection form of vitamin K over the oral supplement, but there may be adverse effects. Oral supplementation of vitamin K given over a long time can be as effective as the injection form. Various other studies were reviewed to look for evidence of an increased risk of cancer with an injection of vitamin K, but almost all studies did not support this theory. Vitamin K is considered safe and effective, and this can be said of both oral and intramuscular administrations.

Authors

Kries R.

Institution

Department of Epidemiology, Institute for Social Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine

Country of Publication

New Zealand

Source

Drug Safety. 21(1):1-6, 1999 Jul.