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Abstract
The clinical importance of the demonstration of bronchodilation from the ingestion of an amount of caffeine equivalent to that in live to seven cups of coffee, as compared with that of theophylline producing a subtherapeutic blood level, is unclear. [...]the amount of caffeine contained in one cup of coffee varies with the method of preparation and the size of the cup, but it could be as high as 333 mg.1 Of greater relevance than either the amount of caffeine per cup or the number of cups required to give a therapeutic dose of caffeine is the fact that regardless of dietary source of caffeine, randomly selected patients have serum caffeine concentrations of potential clinical importance.2 The dose of theophylline administered to our patients, 5 mg per kilogram (mean, 249±29 mg), resulted in a peak serum concentration of 8.4±1.7 mg per liter and in clinically important and statistically significant bronchodilation, The oft-quoted optimal therapeutic range of serum theophylline concentrations is indeed 10 to 20 mg per liter, but serum theophylline concentrations of 5 to 10 mg per liter and even those as low as 2 mg per liter3, 4 have a therapeutic effect. [...]we specifically stated that we do not recommend caffeine for regular use as a bronehodilator.