Caffeine therapy for the first few days of life helps resolve breathing difficulties in babies born prematurely, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Caffeine belongs to a class of compounds called methylxanthines, which are known to improve respiration.
However, it was unclear if such therapy would help very preterm infants, whose lungs are too immature to work properly.
Dr Barbara Schmidt, from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and colleagues assessed the outcomes of 2006 very low birthweight infants who were randomly assigned to get intravenous infusions of caffeine or placebo for the first 10 days of life.
Caffeine therapy was associated with a 37 percent reduction in the need for supplemental oxygen.
In addition, caffeine infusions allowed positive airway pressure ventilation to be discontinued one week earlier.
Researchers, however, warn that although the results are encouraging they represent only short-term outcomes, which are inadequate to assess the overall risks and benefits of neonatal intervention.
Follow-up studies at the ages of 18 to 21 months and 5 years are needed before the standard use of methylxanthine therapy can be recommended, researchers say. - Reuters