Evidence behind the WHO guidelines: Hospital care for children: Is caffeine useful in the prevention of apnoea of prematurity?

The World Health Organization has produced guidelines for the management of common illnesses in hospitals with limited resources. This series reviews the scientific evidence behind WHO's recommendations. The WHO guidelines, and more reviews are available at http:// www. ichrc. org. This review addresses the question: The WHO Pocketbook of Hospital Care for Children recommends caffeine citrate and aminophylline to prevent apnoea in premature babies, caffeine is preferred if it is available. The loading dose of caffeine citrate is 20 mg/kg orally or i.v., a maintenance dose should be prescribed. If an apnoea monitor is available, this should be used.