SafeBoosC-III at 2 years: no clear gain from cerebral oximetry-guided care

Among 1,289 infants with classifiable primary-composite data, 72 hours of cerebral oximetry-guided care produced nearly the same 2-year death-or-disability rate as usual care. Incomplete follow-up and sparse Bayley testing limit certainty about smaller effects.

THE HOT TAKE

Near-infrared monitoring made cerebral oxygen visible; 72 hours of treatment guided by that signal did not produce a detectable 2-year benefit.

SafeBoosC-III randomized 1,601 infants born before 28 weeks' gestation, within 6 hours after birth, at 70 sites in 17 countries. This follow-up included 1,438 infants from 56 sites; the death-or-disability composite could be classified for 1,289 at approximately 2 years' corrected age.

The observed rates were 0.9 percentage points apart. The adjusted relative risk was 0.96 (97.5% CI, 0.85 to 1.07). That interval crosses 1 and still permits a modest benefit or harm; this is a failure to detect superiority, not proof of equivalence.