6533b81ffe1ef96bd1276f9e

RESEARCH PRODUCT

1649 Retrospective Analysis of Doxapram for the Treatment of Apnea of Prematurity

B FekkerI SchmidtmannJulia WinterA KidszunAslihan Gerhold-ayC Whybra-trümplerE Mildenberger

subject

business.industrymedicine.medical_treatmentBirth weightGestational ageApneaDoxaprammedicine.diseaselaw.inventionRandomized controlled triallawAnesthesiaPediatrics Perinatology and Child HealthmedicineRetrospective analysisIntubationmedicine.symptombusinessApnea of prematuritymedicine.drug

description

Background and Aims Only one small randomized controlled study on doxapram to treat apnea of prematurity is available. Before the implementation of a local treatment protocol, we aimed to evaluate the frequency of administration of doxapram in our NICU. We asked, if frequency and severity of apneas were affected by doxapram, if intubation for apnea was avoided, and if side effects occurred. Methods We retrospectively analysed all premature infants Results 17 of 64 (27%) infants (mean gestational age 26.1 weeks, mean birth weight 733g) were treated during two years. All of them had been treated with caffeine before doxapram was applied. 70 therapy courses of 16 infants were analyzed. In 8 of 70 (11%) therapy courses, infants were intubated because of apnea during 48 hours of doxapram treatment. The frequency of apneas (2.24 vs. 0.17), bradycardias Conclusions Doxapram was applied to roughly a quarter of all very immature infants. Frequency and severity of apneas appeared to be reduced. Intubation because of apnea was avoided in a large proportion of infants. No severe side effects were recorded. More systematic studies on efficacy and safety of doxapram in premature infants are needed.

yearjournalcountryeditionlanguage
2012-10-01Archives of Disease in Childhood
https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2012-302724.1649