We are excited to announce the launch of a new clinical trial at the University Teaching Hospitals (UTH) NICU in Lusaka, Zambia!

Premature infants are at risk of apnea of prematurity (AoP), a condition exhibited by cessation of breathing for ≥20 or <20 seconds, which may lead to brain injury, negatively contributing to developmental delays, or death.

While caffeine citrate is the standard treatment during hospitalisation, monitoring for apneic spells following hospital discharge can be challenging due to time, capacity, and the high cost of monitoring devices for home use.

CIDRZ has launched a double-blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled trial to evaluate whether 28 days of post-discharge caffeine citrate can safely reduce complications among premature infants after they leave the NICU.

This is the first randomised trial to evaluate post-discharge caffeine therapy in a low-resource setting, with the potential to shape neonatal care in Zambia and beyond.