NICU · Respiratory
Caffeine Citrate Dosing
Loading and maintenance doses for apnea of prematurity, in mg and mL of the 20 mg/mL caffeine citrate solution.
Weight
Volume to give
- Dose
- —
- Total
- —
- Concentration
- 20 mg/mL
PO or IV over 30 minutes if given intravenously. Loading and maintenance use the same 20 mg/mL caffeine citrate solution.
Loading vs. maintenance range at this weight
scale 0 – 2.00 mLReference
- Indication
- Apnea of prematurity, typically <34 weeks gestation
- Loading dose
- 20 mg/kg caffeine citrate, IV or PO, once
- Maintenance dose
- 5–10 mg/kg/day, once daily, starting ~24 h after the loading dose
- Concentration
- 20 mg/mL caffeine citrate (e.g., Cafcit and generics)
- IV infusion
- Over 30 minutes; do not give as a rapid IV push
- Monitoring
- Heart rate, feeding tolerance; consider levels if response is inadequate or toxicity is suspected
Clinical decision support only. Doses shown follow commonly used caffeine citrate dosing for apnea of prematurity. Verify every dose against your institution's protocol and current prescribing information before administration. PediaSuite is not affiliated with any pharmaceutical manufacturer.
Reviewed by C. A. Leyva, MD, neonatologist · Last reviewed September 2026
References
- Eichenwald EC; Committee on Fetus and Newborn. Apnea of prematurity. Pediatrics. 2016;137(1):e20153757. doi:10.1542/peds.2015-3757
- Schmidt B, Roberts RS, Davis P, et al. Caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity. N Engl J Med. 2006;354(20):2112–2121. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa054065
- U.S. prescribing information (DailyMed): caffeine citrate injection and oral solution.
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