Premature babies commonly suffer from ‘Apnea of Prematurity’ – as their lungs have not developed completely and their nervous systems are immature, babies literally forget to breathe. A new study has found that caffeine therapy can help these babies breather better.
Study leader, Dr. Barbara Schmidt, McMaster University Medical Center, Ontario, Canada, says they are not sure how caffeine therapy helps premature babies breather better – they think there is a stimulant effect of the respiratory system.
The researchers were trying to find out how safe this therapy is and what the long-term effects might be after two years. As soon as they noticed caffeine therapy reduces bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) rates – a significant short-term benefit, they decided to release their findings early.
You can read about this study in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), May 18 issue.
This ongoing study involves 2,000 babies, born 27 weeks after conception, from Canada, England and Australia. Some of them received caffeine therapy while others had a placebo until apnea therapy was not required any more. They were all randomly selected.
The babies were examined just before they left hospital and went home. If the babies still needed supplementary oxygen therapy it meant they still had bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).
36% of the premature babies who had caffeine therapy still required supplemental oxygen when they were discharged from hospital, compared to 47% for the placebo therapy babies. The caffeine therapy group were on ventilator therapy for one week less than the placebo group.
Brain injury and death rates were the same for the two groups. The group on caffeine therapy put on a bit less weight.
As the study aimed to follow up on these babies during their first two years of life, it is still ongoing. However, Dr. Schmidt said the short-term outcomes are quite reassuring. She said the team will report its follow up findings in two-years’ time. There will be another follow-up when the babies reach the age of 5.
Parents should be reassured by the findings – caffeine therapy is commonly used for premature babies. According to the findings so far, caffeine seems to be a relatively safe drug to use. However, the researchers stressed that the study is still ongoing, it was intended as a two-year study with results being published in two years’ time. Therefore, nobody is yet able to conclude whether or not there are any negative, long-term neurological effects.
Written by: Christian Nordqvist
Editor: Medical News Today