Childhood respiratory outcomes after neonatal caffeine therapy.

Caffeine to prevent or treat apnea of prematurity in the newborn period is now standard of care for infants born very preterm. It has both short- and longer-term effects on respiratory health. In the short-term it reduces the duration of assisted ventilation and of oxygen therapy. It also reduces the rate of treatment for a patent ductus arteriosus, and of bronchopulmonary dysplasia. In the longer-term it improves expiratory airflow in childhood, and may have some benefits on respiratory health. Because it has not been used as a neonatal treatment for long enough, it is unknown if neonatal caffeine treatment has any effects on adult expiratory airflow, or on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in later adult life.