Abstract:Objective To investigate the effect of caffeine citrate maintenance therapy on weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation in premature infants with neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (NRDS).Methods A total of 82 premature infants with NRDS who were admitted to our hospital from May 2019 to October 2021 were selected. After weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation, they were divided into the control group (treated with nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation and aminophylline) and observation group (treated with nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation and caffeine citrate maintenance therapy), with 41 cases in each group. The success rates of weaning and rescue in the two groups were compared. The blood gas indexes [partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) and partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) ], respiratory mechanics parameters [airway resistance and intrinsic positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEPi) ] and serological indicators [ferritin (SF) and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) ] were compared. Besides, the incidence of complications during hospitalization in the two groups was also compared.Results The success rates of weaning and rescue in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The PaO2 , PaCO2, airway resistance, PEEPi, SF and ACTH immediately after first weaning and those at 48 h and 72 h after weaning in the two groups were compared via repeated measures analysis of variance. PaO2 , PaCO2 airway resistance, PEEPi, SF and ACTH were different among the time points (P < 0.05) and between the groups (P < 0.05), and the improvement in blood gas indexes was even better in the observation group. The change trends of PaO2 , PaCO2 airway resistance, PEEPi, SF and ACTH were also different between the two groups (P < 0.05). The overall incidence of complications during hospitalization in the observation group was lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05).Conclusions After weaning from invasive mechanical ventilation, caffeine citrate maintenance therapy can increase the success rates of weaning and rescue in premature infants with NRDS. Besides, it improves blood gas indexes, respiratory mechanics parameters, and serological indicators while reducing the incidence of complications.