We further hypothesized that inhaled beclomethasone therapy would aid in the infant s recovery phase during relative adrenal insufficiency and so substituted inhaled for systemic steroids. Inhaled corticosteroid treatment improved the clinical respiratory course and postnatal growth of this premature infant with BPD without inhibiting his recovery from adrenal insufficiency. A CEU Offering Barbara A. Gannon, RN, MS, FNP Apnea of prematurity is a common problem of the premature infant under 30 weeks gestation. Theophylline and caffeine, two methylxanthines, are widely used to treat this condition. The drugs are equally effective in preventing apnea in the premature infant.
Caffeine is therefore the initial drug of choice for apnea of prematurity.
Sample sizes ranged from 10 to 59 infants and totaled 518 infants. Weight gain, energy intake, heart rate, oxygen saturation, length of hospital stay, intestinal transit time, and postconceptional age at full oral feedings. NNS significantly decreased the length of hospital stay in preterm infants. The review did not reveal a consistent benefit of NNS with respect to other major clinical variables. No negative outcomes were reported in any of the studies.