ArticlePakistan journal of medical sciences
Comparison of Caffeine versus Theophylline for apnea of prematurity.
Article in Pakistan journal of medical sciences. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Methylxanthine for the prevention and treatment of apnea in preterm infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Caffeine for the Treatment of Apnea in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Overview of Meta-Analyses.Paediatric drugs · 2020Pooled it
- Methylxanthines: The Major Impact of Caffeine in Clinical Practice in Patients Diagnosed with Apnea of Prematurity.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- The Use of Caffeine Citrate in the Management of Neonatal Apnea in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Rapid Systematic Review.Health science reports · 2025Review
- Clinical efficacy of different maintenance doses of caffeine citrate in the treatment of apnea of prematurity.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2025Article
- Caffeine versus other methylxanthines for the prevention and treatment of apnea in preterm infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Review
- Specific Premature Groups Have Better Benefits When Treating Apnea With Caffeine Than Aminophylline/Theophylline.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2022Article
- Treating Apnea of Prematurity.Cureus · 2022Review
- [An assessment of white matter development in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia using diffusion tensor imaging].Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2020Article
- [Safety and efficacy of caffeine use started at different time in preterm infants: a multicenter study in Jiangsu Province, China].Zhongguo dang dai er ke za zhi = Chinese journal of contemporary pediatrics · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo make a comparison between standard doses of theophylline and caffeine for the treatment of apnea of prematurity.
methodsA randomised control trail was conducted in Department of Pediatrics Medicine Govt. Khawaja Muhammad Safdar Medical College and Govt. Allama Iqbal Memorial Teaching Hospital, Sialkot over duration of one year from August 2017 to August 2018 after approval from the hospital ethics committee. An informed consent in the form of written document was also taken from the parents of each infant participating in the study. Data was analyzed by using SPSS version 24. Mean and SD was calculated for numerical data like gestational age and mean concentration of caffeine and theophylline. Frequency and percentages were calculated for categorical data like nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), supplemental oxyen and intrventricular hemorrhage (IVH) grade I. Student t-test was applied in order to determine the significance of results. P value ≤ 0.05 was considered significant.
resultsA total of 100 infants were enrolled in this study. This study was further divided into two equal groups by lottery method i.e. 50% in each, treated with Theophylline and Caffeine respectively. Mean apnea events/day in neonates administrated by theophylline was 1±0.1, 2±0.12, 2±1.1, 1±0.10 and 2±o.12 for 0, 1-3, 4-7, 8-14 and 15-21 days respectively. While, the mean apnea events/day in neonates administrated by Caffeine was 2±0.3, 1±0.22, 2±1.5, 1±0.13 and 2±0.14 for 0, 1-3, 4-7, 8-14 and 15-21 days respectively. The differences were statistically significant for 1-3 days and 4-7 days p<0.05 according to student t test.
conclusionResults of our study revealed that caffeine being more effective than Theophylline for treating apnea of prematurity.
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