SynthesisPediatric research2020
Confounding biases in studies on early- versus late-caffeine in preterm infants: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Pediatric research, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Indications and timings for caffeine initiation in preterm infants.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Administration time of caffeine in preterm infants: systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2025Pooled it
- European Consensus Guidelines on the Management of Respiratory Distress Syndrome: 2022 Update.Neonatology · 2023Guideline
- Association of individual and bundled evidence-based practices with adverse outcomes in very preterm infants: a multicenter retrospective study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Early aminophylline is a potential therapy for preventing bronchopulmonary dysplasia in premature infants: a retrospective study.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- A Survey of the Union of European Neonatal and Perinatal Societies on Neonatal Respiratory Care in Neonatal Intensive Care Units.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Caffeine dosing regimens in preterm infants with or at risk for apnea of prematurity.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Review
- Immature control of breathing and apnea of prematurity: the known and unknown.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCaffeine is indicated for the management of apnoea of prematurity and extubation in preterm infants. Early initiation of caffeine administration has increased in the past decades with the purpose of reducing respiratory morbidity. However, there might be harms associated with this approach. This systematic review aims to assess whether early administration of caffeine reduces morbidity and mortality in preterm infants.
methodsThe methods were published in a preregistered protocol. The literature search was performed in February 2019 with no restrictions for language or publication date. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies comparing early versus late caffeine administration to infants born before week 34 were included.
resultsTwo RCTs and 14 cohort studies were included. All studies but one had a serious/critical overall risk of bias. Few studies reported on long-term or patient-relevant outcomes. No meta-analysis could be performed.
conclusionBased on the available evidence, no conclusions about the optimal timing of caffeine administration can be drawn. There are inherent methodological problems in the cohort studies. RCTs are needed to answer the question of optimal timing for caffeine administration in neonatal care. Future trials should focus on outcomes relevant to patients and their families and include long-term outcomes.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.