Caffeine a positive stimulant for extremely premature babies

Caffeine a positive stimulant for extremely premature babies

The use of caffeine in treating premature-born babies for apnoea could become standard procedure in neo-natal units in Australia and overseas following a three-year study carried out by the University of Queensland's School of Pharmacy.

The study by Senior Lecturer, Dr Bruce Charles, and the Mater Mothers' Hospital, involved 250 babies who relied on a mechanical ventilator to breath. In premature-born babies, the central nervous system is still developing, and frequently they ?forget' to breath. Known as apnoea, this starves the blood of oxygen, which can lead to death or serious disability.

Dr Charles said minute amounts of caffeine given intraveneously once a day stimulated that part of the brain which signalled the lungs to inflate. He said while the clinical trials had been extremely positive, compiling and analysing the data would not be completed until the end of the year.

"Our study was the first to use caffeine in this way, and because it is a safe drug which can effectively ?wean? babies off a mechanical ventilator, there has been great interest in our work, both in Australia and overseas. Studies that are linked to ours have already begun in Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart."

Dr Charles said caffeine had the potential to replace the drug, theophylline, which was widely used in neo-natal units. However, theophylline (also used to treat asthma) can cause the heart of a premature-born baby to race and may lead to gastro-related problems.

As part of the Brisbane study, Dr Charles is also using sophisticated computer modelling to examine how the drug travels through the small bodies of babies, some of whom weigh as little as 400grams at birth and can sustain only a limited number of blood samples.

The University of Queensland was named Australian University of the Year in 1998 and is a recognised leader in medical and health-related research and teaching.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Bruce Charles telephone 3365 3240.