Factor X deficiency

Alternative names:

Stuart-Prower deficiency

Definition:

An inherited disorder that causes abnormal blood clotting (coagulation), resulting from a deficiency of the plasma protein Factor X.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Normal blood coagulation is a complex process involving as many as 20 different plasma proteins, which are known as blood coagulation factors. A series of complex chemical reactions using these factors takes place very rapidly to form an insoluble protein called fibrin that stops bleeding. When certain coagulation factors are deficient or missing, the chain reaction does not take place normally. In Factor X disorder, bleeding ranges from mild to severe. Women may have severe menstrual bleeding and postpartum hemorrhage. The incidence ranges from 1 out of 500,000 to 1 out of 1,000,000 people. Newborns may present with prolonged bleeding after circumcision.