Table 1. Characteristics of the studies included in the meta-analysis.
| Authors/year | Study design | Location; study period | Population | Gestational age at birth (median or mean, week) | Birth weight at birth (median or mean, g) | Duration of caffeine therapy (day) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patel et al., 2013 (17) | Retrospective cohort | USA; Jan. 2008-June 2010 | Birth weight ≤ 1,250 g total: 104 (EC: 83, LC: 57) |
Median, EC: 40, LC: 39.5 |
Median, EC: 940, LC:910 | Median, EC: 40, LC: 39.5 |
| Taha et al., 2014 (16) | Retrospective cohort | USA; June 2006-May 2011 | Birth weight ≤ 1,250 g treated with caffeine within 10 days of life total: 2,951 (EC: 1,986, LC: 965) | Mean, EC: 27.5, LC 27.2 | Mean, EC: 938, LC: 899 | Median, EC: 50, LC: 49 |
| Dobson et al., 2014 (15) | Retrospective cohort | USA; 1997-2010 | Birth weight < 1,500 g total: 54,707 (EC: 30,891, LC: 23,816) | Median, EC: 28.2, LC: 27.7 | Median, EC: 1,076, LC:1,009 | Median, EC: 36, LC: 30 Mean, EC: 37, LC: 33 |
| Abbasi et al., 2010 (20) | Retrospective cohort, (abstract) | USA, multicenter gene targets IVH study; NA | Birth weight 500-1,250 g 166 case/control pairs | NA | NA | NA |
| Davis et al., 2010 (14) | Randomized controlled trial | Caffeine for Apnea of Prematurity (CAP) Trial Group (Canada, US, Australia, Europe and Israel; Oct. 11, 1999-Oct. 22, 2004) | Birth weight of 500 to 1,250 g treated with caffeine within 10 days of life post hoc analysis with CAP trial total: 867-1,006 (EC:348-413, LC:519-593, variable among reported outcomes) | NA | NA | NA |
EC, early caffeine group; LC, late caffeine group; NA, not available.