Caffeine therapy for apnoea of prematurity in very low-birthweight infants

Abstract

Caffeine and other methylxanthines have been used to treat apnoea of prematurity for over 30 years. However, until recently, experimental evidence of the potential harm and lack of rigorous evaluation of this drug therapy in controlled clinical trials resulted in substantial uncertainty about the safety of the routine use of methylxanthines in preterm infants. The international Caffeine for Apnoea of Prematurity (CAP) trial group was formed in 1998. This collaborative research team enrolled over 2000 very low-birthweight infants in North America, Australia and Europe, and followed the children to the end of their second year of life. The CAP trial investigators showed for the first time that neonatal caffeine therapy reduces the rates of important short- and long-term morbidities such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, severe retinopathy of prematurity, cerebral palsy and cognitive delay. Of all the neonatal treatments that have been subjected to economic evaluations, caffeine therapy is the most certain to be both cost saving and beneficial. It is therefore imperative that responsible drug manufacturers make safe and affordable formulations of caffeine available worldwide.