Theophylline therapy for apnea of prematurity in Saudi preterm infants: therapeutic serum level and dosage

In a controlled study, 150 Saudi preterm infants were treated with 1.5 mg/kg/day of thephyline for apnea of prematurity. In 96.8% of infants the apnea was either reduced by more than 50% or abolished completely. The effective therapeutic plasma level for these infants was 4.5 +/- 2.1 micro g/mL. a loading dose was found to be unnecessary. Theophylline at these doses appears to be effective and safe treatment for apnea of prematuity in Saudi infants