Care of the critically ill child: the bleeding neonate

Serious bleeding episodes in newborn infants can usually be diagnosed following careful clinical assessment and a few simple laboratory tests. Certain conditions are found almost exclusively in "sick" infants, whereas other coagulation abnormalities occur in otherwise "healthy" neonates. Successful management of hemorrhage necessitates a correct diagnosis which thereby dictates appropirate therapy. In some cases, such as in DIC, successful outcome ultimately depends on correction of the underlying pathophysiology which triggered the coagulation disturbance.