Could your bleeding or other symptoms be due to hereditary factor X deficiency?
Hereditary factor X (10) deficiency is a rare bleeding disorder that can be serious. It affects about 1 in 1 million people. If you have factor X deficiency—or think you might—this page is for you.
What Is Factor X Deficiency?
Factor X deficiency (spoken as “factor 10”) is a rare bleeding disorder caused by having too little of a clotting factor called factor X in the blood. Or sometimes, people have enough factor X but it does not work the way it should. Hereditary factor X deficiency is factor X deficiency that runs in families, meaning it can be passed down from parents to a child. However, some people with hereditary factor X deficiency do not know of another family member with a bleeding disorder.
Factor X works by helping with blood clotting to stop bleeding or prevent unusual bleeding. Bleeding can happen inside the body (for example, in a joint) or on the outside of the body (as with a skin cut). People with factor X deficiency may bleed more than normal and have a hard time getting bleeding to stop.
Symptoms of factor X deficiency sometimes can be confusing or hard to understand. For example, symptoms may include joint swelling and pain that are caused by bleeding inside a joint.
Symptoms of factor X deficiency may include—
Symptoms in women:
- Heavier or longer bleeding during periods than most other women (heavy menstrual bleeding)
- Bleeding complications during pregnancy or childbirth
Symptoms in newborns: Umbilical cord (belly button) or circumcision bleeding that does not stop normally, abnormal bruising or bleeding, or brain or stomach bleeding
Symptoms in anyone of any age:
Easy bruising
Nosebleeds
Joint swelling/pain
Gum bleeding
Excessive bleeding after injury
GI bleeding (stomach or intestines)
Bleeding in the brain
Did you know?
- About 1 in 5 people with factor X deficiency have had a brain bleed
- People with factor X deficiency may have a high risk of severe bleeds
How Do I Know if I Have Factor X Deficiency?
Talk with your doctor if you think you may have factor X deficiency. Your doctor may ask about your symptoms, medical history, and family history of bleeding problems, and offer lab testing to diagnose your condition.
Help your doctor help you.
- Download the Symptom Screener.
- Save and print, or email the questions and answers to show your doctor.
- Ask your doctor about getting tested for bleeding disorders.
Hemophilia treatment centers
Many patients with factor X deficiency seek diagnosis and treatment at a Hemophilia Treatment Center (HTC). More than 140 HTCs are found across the US. They provide high-quality care for people with all types of bleeding disorders. Talk with your doctor about HTCs.
A patient's journey to diagnosis
Certain lab tests may give your doctor clues to test you further for factor X deficiency. For example, if the two tests below are both longer than normal, ask your doctor about being tested for factor X deficiency:
Hereditary Factor X Deficiency Severity
- Bleeding risk for hereditary factor X deficiency is rated as severe, moderate, or mild based on the level of factor X in the blood and bleeding symptoms1
- Your doctor can do a blood test to find out the level of factor X in your blood
Less than 10 units (IU/dL) of factor X
10 to 40 units (IU/dL) of factor X
>40–65 units (IU/dL) of factor X
How Is Hereditary Factor X Deficiency Treated?
Hereditary factor X deficiency is treated by replacing the factor X that is missing in the body. How often treatment is needed depends on how often you have symptoms and how severe they are.
Routine (prophylaxis):
- Routine treatment means you take a medicine regularly as directed by your doctor to help prevent bleeding before it happens.
Factor X kept at near normal blood levels between doses 
- This may be the right choice if your symptoms are regular, affect your daily activities, are painful, or if you have severe (bad) bleeds.
As needed (on-demand):
- You may decide to treat each time you bleed. Treatment as needed can help to stop a bleed after it starts.
Factor X is given to raise levels to help stop bleeding 
- This may be the right choice if you bleed very rarely, if bleeding does not affect your daily activity, or if your bleeding is not severe.
Surgical:
- Treatment may be given with surgery to help prevent bleeding.
- This may be the right choice even if you bleed rarely or your bleeding is not severe, or your daily activity is not usually affected by it.
- After surgery, patients can change to routine therapy, or treatment as needed.
Ask your doctor if COAGADEX is right for you.
Reference: 1. Peyvandi F, Auerswald G, Austin SK, et al. Diagnosis, therapeutic advances, and key recommendations for the management of factor X deficiency. Blood Reviews. 2021;50:100833.
Indications and Usage for COAGADEX
COAGADEX, a plasma-derived blood coagulation factor X concentrate, is indicated in adults and children with hereditary factor X deficiency for:
- Routine prophylaxis to reduce the frequency of bleeding episodes
- On-demand treatment and control of bleeding episodes
- Perioperative management of bleeding in patients with mild, moderate and severe hereditary factor X deficiency
Contraindication for COAGADEX
COAGADEX is contraindicated in patients who have had life-threatening hypersensitivity reactions to COAGADEX.
Important Safety Information for COAGADEX
Allergic type hypersensitivity reactions, including anaphylaxis, are possible with COAGADEX. If symptoms occur, patients should discontinue use of the product immediately, contact their physician, and administer appropriate treatment.
The formation of neutralizing antibodies (inhibitors) to factor X is a possible complication in the management of individuals with factor X deficiency. Carefully monitor patients taking COAGADEX for the development of inhibitors by appropriate clinical observations and laboratory tests.
COAGADEX is made from human plasma and may contain infectious agents, e.g. viruses, the variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) agent and, theoretically, the Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) agent. No cases of transmission of viral diseases, vCJD or CJD, have been associated with the use of COAGADEX.
In clinical studies, the most common adverse reactions (frequency ≥5% of subjects) with COAGADEX were infusion site erythema, infusion site pain, fatigue and back pain.
