Oxycodone - Hydrocodone Information, Use, Testing and Treatment

Recent disturbing report, "Oxycodone Is Becoming More Popular Among Teens".

The AORN Journal (the official publication of AORN Inc, Association of periOperative Registered Nurses), stated in its February 2005 issue that for the most part teenage drug use was on the decline by approximately 17%. Their article referred to a survey conducted by the US Department of Health and Human Services in December 2004. This survey, which measured the drug, nicotine, and alcohol usage of 49,474 eighth, tenth, and twelfth grade students nationwide was encouraging but it did indicate that there were some areas for concern.

Data from 2004 indicated an increase from 2003 in the abuse of hydrocodone (i.e. Vicodin) and in oxycodone (i.e. OxyContin) among these students groups. Detailed below is the approximate admitted usage by those surveyed.

In 2004 after receiving FDA clearance (510K033047) we launched our rapid diagnostic test for Oxycodone in single dip and device formats. Since then, this analyte has been added to a few different drug test configurations that we offer to meet the increase in demand for this test.

Important Links:

What Is Oxycodone?

OxyContin Information

What is Hydrocodone?

• Hydrocodone Side Effects

• Hydrocodone Withdrawal

• Hydrocodone Overdose

Oxycodone is a semi-synthetic opioid with a structural similarity to codeine. The drug is manufactured by modifying thebaine, an alkaloid found in the opium poppy.  Oxycodone, like all opiate agonists, provides pain relief by acting on opioid receptors in the spinal cord, brain, and possibly directly in the affected tissues. Oxycodone is prescribed for the relief of moderate to high pain under the well-known pharmaceutical trade names of OxyContin®, Tylox®, Percodan® and Percocet®. While Tylox, Percodan and Percocet contain only small doses of oxycodone hydrochloride combined with other analgesics such as acetaminophen or aspirin, OxyContin consists solely of oxycodone hydrochloride in a time-release form.

Oxycodone is known to metabolize by demethylation into oxymorphone and noroxycodone. In a 24-hour urine, 33-61% of a single, 5mg oral dose is excreted with the primary constituents being unchanged drug (13-19%), conjugated drug (7-29%) and conjugated oxymorphone (13-14%)1. The window of detection for oxycodone in urine is expected to be similar to that of other opioids such as morphine.

Market Overview

Oxycodone, active ingredient in the pharmaceutical brands Oxycontin®, Percodan® and Percocet®, is an opiod drug that is chemically derived from the opiate codeine. Although the drug has been in existence for decades, the recent awareness of oxycodone as an abused drug and it’s implication in fatal overdoses warrants an immediate need for an accurate, rapid drug screen specifically designed to detect oxycodone. Some relevant statistics include the following:

• As of 2001, with sales nearing $1.5 billion, OxyContin® ranked #1 in retail sales of branded controlled pharmaceuticals1.

• In the 2002 Monitoring the Future study, 4% of students surveyed indicated Oxycodone use by 12th grade2. With secondary school enrollment of an estimated 13, 400,000 students, 4% represents more than 535,000 students admitting to Oxycodone use.

• Oxycodone specific mentions in hospital Emergency Departments rose 59% to 7,828 in the first half of 20023.

While some commercially available morphine/opiate immunoassays exhibit some degree of cross-reactivity to oxycodone, most do so at such high levels that they are not amenable to detecting the drug in routine use. Likewise, most confirmation laboratories do not include oxycodone in the standard confirmation procedure for opiates. As such, development of a rapid immunoassay for the specific detection of oxycodone will enable the test administrator to know whether the person might be positive for that drug and request the oxycodone-specific confirmation at the laboratory. In addition, it will be critically important that the oxycodone assay not routinely cross-react with morphine, codeine or their respective conjugates.

2 Johnston, L.D., O’Malley, C. M., & Bachman, J. G. (2003). Monitoring the Future national results of adolescent drug use; overview of key findings for 2002. (NIH publication 03-5374). Bethesda, MD. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Hydrocodone addiction is a growing crisis in the United States. While illegal drugs like cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin remain in the headlines many individuals may be surprised to know that hydrocodone addiction could lurk right behind them as one of the most widely-abused drugs of addiction. In fact, the FDA believes hydrocodone may be the most abused prescription drug in the country. Nationwide, its use has quadrupled in the last ten years, while emergency room visits attributed to hydrocodone abuse soared 500 percent.

Hydrocodone is a narcotic that can produce a calm, euphoric state similar to heroin or morphine--and despite such important and obvious benefits in pain relief, evidence is pointing to chronic addiction. Pure hydrocodone is a Schedule II substance, closely controlled with restricted use. But very few prescription drugs are pure hydrocodone. Instead, small amounts of hydrocodone are mixed with other non-narcotic ingredients to create medicines like Vicodin and Lortab. This means they can be classified under Schedule III with fewer restrictions on their use and distribution.

Hydrocodone is a narcotic that can produce a calm, euphoric state similar to heroin or morphine--and despite such important and obvious benefits in pain relief, evidence is pointing to chronic addiction. Pure hydrocodone is a Schedule II substance, closely controlled with restricted use. But very few prescription drugs are pure hydrocodone. Instead, small amounts of hydrocodone are mixed with other non-narcotic ingredients to create medicines like Vicodin and Lortab. This means they can be classified under Schedule III with fewer restrictions on their use and distribution.

Subject to individual tolerance, many medical experts believe dependence or addiction can occur within one to four weeks at higher doses of Hydrocodone. Published reports of high profile movie stars, TV personalities and professional athletes who are recovering from Hydrocodone addiction are grim testimony to its debilitating effects.

If a regular hydrocodone user stops taking hydrocodone, he or she will experience hydrocodone withdrawal symptoms within six to twelve hours but, the withdrawal symptoms are usually not life-threatening. The intensity of hydrocodone withdrawal symptoms depend on the degree of the addiction. For example, hydrocodone withdrawal symptoms may grow stronger for twenty-four to seventy-two hours and then gradually decline over a period of seven to fourteen days. The duration of hydrocodone withdrawal symptoms varies greatly from person to person.

Hydrocodone Withdrawal symptoms include but are not limited to:

Hydrocodone is abused for its opiate-like effects. It is equivalent to morphine in relieving abstinence symptoms from chronic morphine administration. The Schedule III status of Hydrocodone-containing products has made them available to widespread diversion by "bogus call-in prescriptions" and thefts. Three dosage forms are typically found (5, 7.5, and 10 mg) and their behavioral effects can last up to 5 hours. The drug is most often administered orally. The growing awareness and concern about AIDS and blood-borne pathogens easily transmitted by syringe needle use, has made the oral bioavailability of Hydrocodone attractive to the typical opiate abuser.

Symptoms of a Hydrocodone overdose include: