Caffeine helps premature babies

[Posted: Fri 19/05/2006 - www.irishhealth.com]

A new study has shown that the use of caffeine may help regulate the breathing of premature infants.

Infants treated with caffeine therapy for apnoea (interrupted breathing) needed less artificial assistance with breathing and had a lower incidence of abnormal lung development than infants whop were given a placebo, according to the research.

The US study of more than 2,000 premature babies showed that 36% of the infants receiving caffeine therapy needed extra oxygen by the time they reached 36 weeks.

In contrast, 47% of the infants who received the placebo still needed to be given extra oxygen by the time they reached the same age.

The babies receiving the placebo also needed to undergo ventilator therapy to support their irregular breathing for one week longer than the babies who received the caffeine therapy.

The results from the study, according to the researchers, suggest a potential for long-term benefits of caffeine therapy in infants with very low birth weight and that tit can prevent abnormal lung development.

The research is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.