Prophylactic theophylline for the prevention of severe renal dysfunction in term and post-term neonates with perinatal asphyxia: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of prophylactic theophylline for the prevention of severe renal dysfunction in post-asphyxiated term and post-term infants. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing prophylactic theophylline vs placebo in term infants following perinatal asphyxia. RESULT: Four RCTs involving 197 infants were included in the meta-analysis. Compared with placebo, prophylactic theophylline was associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of severe renal dysfunction (pooled relative risk) using fixed-effects model was 0.38 (95% confidence interval, 0.25 to 0.57; P