Oxycodone

Oxycodone is a popular member of the opioid class. It is widely used in medical settings for acute and chronic pain. Outside of those settings, it has long been used recreationally, with its effects compared to morphine and heroin.

The drug is sold either on its own or in combination with acetaminophen (primarily). When acetaminophen is present, the dose must be limited. The general recommendation is to avoid using over 1,000 mg at once or 3,000 mg per day.

An oxycodone overdose can be very dangerous and even deadly, with a notably problematic effect being respiratory depression. It is more risky when combined with other CNS depressants (e.g. benzodiazepines and alcohol.)

Oxycodone = OxyContin; OxyNeo; Percodan; Dihydrohydroxycodeinone; Percocet; Roxicodone; Eukodal; Dihydrone; Oxycodeinone

PubChem: 5284603

Molecular formula: C18H21NO4

Molecular weight: 315.369 g/mol

IUPAC: (4R,4aS,7aR,12bS)-4a-hydroxy-9-methoxy-3-methyl-2,4,5,6,7a,13-hexahydro-1H-4,12-methanobenzofuro[3,2-e]isoquinoline-7-one

Dose

Oral (medical)

Chronic range: 10 – 300 mg (normally under 50 mg)

Acute IR: 5 mg every 6 hours

Oral (IR)

Light: 2.5 – 10 mg

Common: 10 – 25 mg

Strong: 25 – 30 mg

Intranasal

Light: 2.5 – 5 mg

Common: 5 – 15 mg

Strong: 15 – 25 mg

Timeline

Oral (IR)

Total: 4 – 6 hours

Onset: 00:10 – 00:30

Oral (CR)

Total: Up to 12 hours (often 6 – 10 hours)

Onset: ~ 00:30

Intranasal

Total: 3 – 5 hours

Onset: 00:01 – 00:10

Experience Reports

Erowid

Test Results

References

(2016) Opioid Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics

(2016) Agonism at delta-opioid receptor contributes to the antinociceptive effect of oxycodone in mice

(2016) The Adverse Events of Oxycodone in Cancer-Related Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

(2015) An update on oxycodone: lessons for death investigators in Australia.

(2015) Abrupt decline in oxycodone-caused mortality after implementation of Florida’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.

(2014) The impact of a reformulation of extended-release oxycodone designed to deter abuse in a sample of prescription opioid abusers.

(2014) Opioids compared with placebo or other treatments for chronic low back pain: an update of the Cochrane Review.

(2014) Oxycodone/Naloxone prolonged-release: a review of its use in the management of chronic pain while counteracting opioid-induced constipation.

(2014) Oxycodone for neuropathic pain and fibromyalgia in adults.

(2014) Rapid dopamine transmission within the nucleus accumbens: Dramatic difference between morphine and oxycodone delivery

(2013) Oxycodone overdose causes naloxone responsive coma and QT prolongation.

(2013) FDA ban of generic oxycodone calls into question Health Canada’s approval

(2013) Does the pharmacology of oxycodone justify its increasing use as an analgesic?

(2013) Opioid dose and risk of road trauma in Canada: a population-based study.

(2012) Oxycodone class action lawsuit filed

(2012) A systematic review of randomized trials on the effectiveness of opioids for cancer pain.

(2012) Dependence and addiction during chronic opioid therapy.

(2012) Effect of Abuse-Deterrent Formulation of OxyContin

(2012) Is oxycodone efficacy reflected in serum concentrations? A multicenter, cross-sectional study in 456 adult cancer patients.

(2012) Opiate addiction and cocaine addiction: underlying molecular neurobiology and genetics.

(2012) Separate and combined psychopharmacological effects of alprazolam and oxycodone in healthy volunteers.

(2011) Oxycodone poisoning: not just the ‘usual suspects’.

(2011) Increasing deaths involving oxycodone, Victoria, Australia, 2000-09.

(2011) A systematic review of oxycodone in the management of cancer pain.

(2011) Comparable efficacy and superior gastrointestinal tolerability (nausea, vomiting, constipation) of tapentadol compared with oxycodone hydrochloride.

(2011) Influences on the pharmacokinetics of oxycodone: a multicentre cross-sectional study in 439 adult cancer patients.

(2011) Opioid dose and drug-related mortality in patients with nonmalignant pain.

(2011) Toxicology and characteristics of fatal oxycodone toxicity cases in New South Wales, Australia 1999-2008.

(2010) Role of oxycodone and oxycodone/naloxone in cancer pain management.

(2010) Long-term opioid management for chronic noncancer pain.

(2010) The effects of CYP2D6 and CYP3A activities on the pharmacokinetics of immediate release oxycodone

(2009) Single dose oral oxycodone and oxycodone plus paracetamol (acetaminophen) for acute postoperative pain in adults.

(2009) Oxycodone: new ‘old’ drug.

(2009) Prescribing of opioid analgesics and related mortality before and after the introduction of long-acting oxycodone

(2009) Pharmacology of oxycodone: does it explain why oxycodone has become a bestselling strong opioid?

(2008) The relative abuse liability of oral oxycodone, hydrocodone and hydromorphone assessed in prescription opioid abusers.

(2008) Oxycodone: a review of its use in the management of pain.

(2008) Opioid pharmacology.

(2008) Analgesic efficacy and safety of oxycodone in combination with naloxone as prolonged release tablets in patients with moderate to severe chronic pain.

(2008) Prolonged-release oxycodone enhances the effects of existing gabapentin therapy in painful diabetic neuropathy patients.

(2007) Oxycodone abuse in Texas, 1998-2004.

(2007) Efficacy and tolerability of oxycodone hydrochloride controlled-release tablets in moderate to severe cancer pain.

(2007) How different is oxycodone from morphine?

(2007) Long-term use of controlled-release oxycodone for noncancer pain: results of a 3-year registry study.

(2007) Oxycodone: a pharmacological and clinical review.

(2006) Assessing cognition and psychomotor function under long-term treatment with controlled release oxycodone in non-cancer pain patients.

(2006) Opioid Analgesics and Rates of Fatal Drug Poisoning in the United States

(2006) Opioids for chronic noncancer pain: a meta-analysis of effectiveness and side effects.

(2006) Serotonin syndrome induced by fluvoxamine and oxycodone.

(2006) Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of oral oxycodone in healthy human subjects: role of circulating active metabolites.

(2005) Oxycodone

(2005) Analgesic efficacy and tolerability of oxycodone 5 mg/ibuprofen 400 mg compared with those of oxycodone 5 mg/acetaminophen 325 mg and hydrocodone 7.5 mg/acetaminophen 500 mg in patients with moderate to severe postoperative pain: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-dose, parallel-group study in a dental pain model.

(2005) Controlled-release oxycodone-induced seizures.

(2003) Scophedal (SEE) was it a fad or a miracle drug?

(1963) The Addiction Potential of Oxycodone (Percodan®)