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Caffeine as an Adjuvant Therapy for Late Preterm Infants With Respiratory Distress

Caffeine for Late Preterm Infants: A Double Blind Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 2Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06026163
Acronym
CAT/LPT
Enrollment
134
Registered
2023-09-06
Start date
2023-10-12
Completion date
2028-01-01
Last updated
2025-06-27

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Prematurity, Respiratory Disease, Ventilator Lung; Newborn

Keywords

caffeine, preterm, newborn, respiratory support

Brief summary

Use of caffeine citrate in late-preterm infants with respiratory distress is questionable. Oliphant and colleagues found in a recently published study that caffeine therapy use in late-preterm infants at a loading dose of 20 and 40 mg/kg and maintenance dose of 10 and 20 mg/kg/day reduces the incidence of intermittent hypoxia events by 61 and 67% respectively. The investigators hypothesized that caffeine will improve respiratory drive, prevent apnea, shorten the hospital stay and improve arousal state in late preterm infants. The investigators aim to study the effect of caffeine citrate on late preterm babies as regard duration of respiratory support, duration of hospital stay, respiratory morbidity, incidence and frequency of apnea.

Detailed description

late preterm infants will be randomized in a blinded manner to receive either caffeine in loading dose 20 mg/kg (equivalent for 10 mg/kg caffeine base) and maintenance dose 10 mg/kg/day (equivalent for 5 mg/kg caffeine base) in Caffeine treatment group, or equivalent volume of saline in the placebo group. Caffeine will be continued until infants get off all forms of respiratory support. Preparation of caffeine and placebo will be performed by a designated pharmacist who is not part of the study. Parents and investigators will be remained blinded to the administered medications throughout the study period.

Interventions

DRUGCaffeine citrate

Caffeine citrate in loading dose 20 mg/kg (equivalent for 10 mg/kg caffeine base) and maintenance dose 10 mg/kg/day (equivalent for 5 mg/kg caffeine base)

OTHERPlacebo

Equivalent volume of saline

Sponsors

Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Lead SponsorOTHER_GOV

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Masking description

Preparation of caffeine and placebo will be performed by a designated pharmacist who is not part of the study. Parents and investigators will be remained blinded to the administered medications throughout the study period.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
1 Days to 3 Days
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Newborn infants at gestational age 34 0/7 through 36 6/7 * Presented with respiratory distress * Require respiratory support in the form of any of the following : A) Invasive mechanical ventilation, B) Non-invasive positive pressure ventilation, C) Nasal cannula with FIO2 requirement over 50% to keep pre-ductal saturation between 90-95%.

Exclusion criteria

1 - Late preterm admitted for non-respiratory etiologies 2- Late preterm infants requiring nasal cannula on less than 50% FIO2 by 4 hours of age as they are less likely to require respiratory support for a long time. 3- Newborn infants with congenital malformations and chromosomal anomalies. 4- Infants with echocardiographic evidence of PPHN requiring medical intervention. 5- Late preterm with history of maternal substance abuse

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Duration of respiratory support28 dayscumulative duration of mechanical ventilation, non-invasive positive pressure ventilation and nasal cannula therapy (days)

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Failure of extubation28 daysneed of re-intubation within 72 h of extubation from mechanical ventilation
Duration of caffeine28 daysDays of caffeine treatment
Length of hospital stay28 daysdays of hospital admission
Time to full enteral and oral feeding28 daysdays to reach full enteral feeds
Adverse effects of caffeine use28 daysTachycardia, irritability, feeding intolerance, hypertension
Episodes of apnea28 gaysthe cessation of breathing for more than 20 seconds or cessation of breathing for accompanied by bradycardia or desaturation
Weight gain per day28 daysWeight gain per day (gram)
Mortality28 daysDeath before hospital discharge
Readmission rate28 daysReadmission to the hospital with respiratory related symptoms within 48 hours of hospital discharge
Days of apnea28 daysDays of apnea
Caffeine withhold28 daysCaffeine withhold for suspected side effects

Countries

Saudi Arabia

Contacts

Primary ContactOhoud Almoualled, Dr
o.doc2or@gmail.com+966500550679

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026