[Clinical effect of early or late administration of caffeine citrate in prevention and treatment of apnea in very low birth weight infants].

Objective: To study the clinical effect of early or late administration of caffeine citrate in the prevention and treatment of apnea in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants.

Methods: A total of 82 VLBW infants who were hospitalized and treated in the neonatal intensive care unit between June 2015 and May 2017 were enrolled. According to the age in days when caffeine citrate treatment was started, they were divided into early treatment group (<3 days) with 22 infants and late treatment group (3 - <10 days) with 60 infants. A retrospective analysis was performed for their clinical data. The two groups were compared in terms of general information during the perinatal period, treatment process, and clinical outcome.

Results: Compared with the late treatment group, the early treatment group had a significantly lower birth weight (P=0.004), significantly shorter durations of mechanical ventilation and oxygen inhalation (P<0.05), and a significantly lower incidence rate of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (P=0.032). There were no significant differences in other general information, treatment process, and clinical outcome between the two groups (P>0.05).

Conclusions: Early administration of caffeine citrate can improve the prognosis of VLBW infants.