Dosing & Uses
Dosage Forms & Strengths
tablet: Schedule II
- 15mg
- 30mg
- 60mg
Pain
15-60 mg PO q4-6hr PRN; not to exceed 360 mg/day in naive patients
Dosing considerations
- Patients with prior opioid exposure may require higher initial doses
- Titrate dose to pain relief; use lowest effective dose for shortest period of time
Cough (Off-label)
7.5-30 mg PO q4-6hr PRN
Dosage Forms & Strengths
tablet: Schedule II
- 15mg
- 30mg
- 60mg
oral solution: Schedule II
- 30mg/mL (has not been available for over 1 year)
The FDA has recommended that codeine not be used in children <12 years and all pediatric patients undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy
Pain (Off-label)
<12 years:Contraindicated
≥12 years: 0.5-1 mg/kg PO q4-6hr PRN; not to exceed 60 mg/dose; titrate dose to pain relief; use lowest effective dose for shortest period of time
Alternatively, 15-60 mg PO q4-6hr PRN; not to exceed 360 mg/day in naive patients
Dosing considerations
- See Black Box Warnings and Contraindications sections for warning regarding postoperative use following tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy
Cough (Off-label)
≥ 12 years: 7.5-30 mg PO q4-6hr PRN;titrate dose to pain relief; use lowest effective dose for shortest period of time
Interactions
Interaction Checker
No Results

Contraindicated
Serious - Use Alternative
Significant - Monitor Closely
Minor

Adverse Effects
>10%
Constipation
Drowsiness
1-10%
Hypotension
Tachycardia or bradycardia
Confusion
Dizziness
False feeling of well-being
Headache
Lightheadedness
Malaise
Paradoxical CNS stimulation
Restlessness
Rash, urticaria
Anorexia
Nausea, vomiting
Xerostomia
Ureteral spasm, urination decreased
LFTs increased
Burning at injection site
Weakness
Blurred vision
Dyspnea
Histamine release
<1%
Hypotension, with IV use
Anaphylactoid reaction (rare)
Seizure, with excessive doses
Respiratory depression
Postmarketing Reports
Severe hypotension
Life-threatening respiratory depression
Neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome
Death related to ultra-rapid metabolizers of codeine
Adrenal insufficiency
Gastrointestinal adverse reactions
Seizures
Euphoria
Dysphoria
Abdominal pain
Pruritus
Sweating
Serotonin syndrome
Anaphylaxis
Androgen deficiency
Warnings
Black Box Warnings
Opioid analgesic risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS)
- Drug exposes patients and other users to the risks of opioid addiction, abuse and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death; assess each patient’s risk prior to prescribing drug, and monitor all patients regularly for the development of these behaviors and conditions
- To ensure that benefits of opioid analgesics outweigh risks of addiction, abuse, and misuse, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required a REMS for these products; under requirements of the REMS, drug companies with approved opioid analgesic products must make REMS-compliant education programs available to healthcare providers
-
Healthcare providers are strongly encouraged to:
- Complete a REMS-compliant education program
- Counsel patients and/or their caregivers, with every prescription, on safe use, serious risks, storage, and disposal of these products
- Emphasize to patients and their caregivers the importance of reading the Medication Guide every time it is provided by their pharmacist
- Consider other tools to improve patient, household, and community safety
Life-Threatening Respiratory Depression
- Serious, life-threatening, or fatal respiratory depression may occur with therapy
- Monitor for respiratory depression, especially during initiation of therapy or following a dose increase
- Respiratory depression and death reported following tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy in patients that appeared to be rapid metabolizers of codeine due to CYP2D6 polymorphism
Ultra-rapid metabolism of codeine and other risk factors for life-threatening respiratory depression in children
- Life-threatening respiratory depression and death have occurred in children who received codeine; most of reported cases occurred following tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy and many of the children had evidence of being ultra-rapid metabolizers of codeine due to a cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6 polymorphism
- Avoid use of in adolescents 12-18 years of age who have other risk factors that may increase their sensitivity to respiratory depressant effects of codeine
Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome
- Prolonged use during pregnancy can result in neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome, which may be life-threatening if not recognized and treated, and requires management according to protocols developed by neonatology experts; if opioid use is required for a prolonged period in a pregnant woman, advise patient of risk of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome and ensure that appropriate treatment will be available
Interactions with Drugs Affecting Cytochrome P450 Isoenzymes
- The effects of concomitant use or discontinuation of CYP3A4 inducers, CYP3A4 inhibitors, or CYP2D6 inhibitors with codeine are complex; use of CYP3A4 inducers, CYP3A4 inhibitors, or CYP2D6 inhibitors with drug requires careful consideration of effects on parent drug, codeine, and active metabolite, morphine
Risks from concomitant use with benzodiazepines or other CNS depressants
- Concomitant use of opioids with benzodiazepines or other central nervous system (CNS) depressants, including alcohol, may result in profound sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death
- Reserve concomitant prescribing of with
- benzodiazepines or other CNS depressants for use in patients for whom alternative treatment options are inadequate
- Limit dosages and durations to minimum required
- Follow patients for signs and symptoms of respiratory depression and sedation
Contraindications
Hypersensitivity to codeine
Significant respiratory depression
Children younger than 12 years
Postoperative pain management in children (<18 years) who have undergone tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy
Acute or severe bronchial asthma in an unmonitored setting or in the absence of resuscitative equipment
Concurrent use of monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) or use of MAOIs within last 14 days
Known or suspected gastrointestinal obstruction, including paralytic ileus
Cautions
Codeine sulfate tablets contain codeine, a schedule II controlled substance; as an opioid, codeine sulfate tablets exposes users to risks of addiction, abuse, and misuse; addiction can occur at recommended dosages and if drug is misused or abused; assess each patient’s risk for opioid addiction, abuse, or misuse prior to prescribing codeine sulfate tablets, and monitor; risks are increased in patients with a personal or family history of substance abuse (including drug or alcohol abuse or addiction) or mental illness (e.g., major depression); potential for these risks should not prevent proper management of pain in any given patient; patients at increased risk may be prescribed opioids such as codeine sulfate tablets, but use in such patients necessitates intensive counseling about risks and proper use of codeine sulfate along with intensive monitoring for signs of addiction, abuse, and misuse; prescribe the drug in smallest appropriate quantity and advise patient on proper disposal of unused drug
Opioids can cause sleep-related breathing disorders including central sleep apnea (CSA) and sleep-related hypoxemia; opioid use increases risk of CSA in a dose-dependent fashion; in patients who present with CSA, consider decreasing opioid dosage using best practices for opioid taper
Therapy may cause severe hypotension including orthostatic hypotension and syncope in ambulatory patients; there is increased risk in patients whose ability to maintain blood pressure has already been compromised by a reduced blood volume or concurrent administration of certain CNS depressant drugs (e.g., phenothiazines or general anesthetics); monitor patients for signs of hypotension after initiating or titrating dosage; in patients with circulatory shock, therapy may cause vasodilation that can further reduce cardiac output and blood pressure; avoid therapy in patients with circulatory shock
In patients who may be susceptible to intracranial effects of CO2 retention (e.g., those with evidence of increased intracranial pressure or brain tumors), therapy may reduce respiratory drive, and resultant CO2 retention can further increase intracranial pressure; monitor such patients for signs of sedation and respiratory depression, particularly when initiating therapy; opioids may obscure clinical course in a patient with a head injury; avoid the use in patients with impaired consciousness or coma
Contraindicated in patients with known or suspected gastrointestinal obstruction, including paralytic ileus; may cause spasm of sphincter of Oddi; opioids may cause increases in serum amylase; monitor patients with biliary tract disease, including acute pancreatitis, for worsening symptoms
Therapy may increase frequency of seizures in patients with seizure disorders, and may increase risk of seizures occurring in other clinical settings associated with seizures; monitor patients with history of seizure disorders for worsened seizure control during therapy
Avoid use of mixed agonist/antagonist (e.g., pentazocine, nalbuphine, and butorphanol) or partial agonist (e.g., buprenorphine) analgesics in patients who are receiving a full opioid agonist analgesic; mixed agonist/antagonist and partial agonist analgesics may reduce analgesic effect and/or precipitate withdrawal symptoms; when discontinuing therapy in physically-dependent patient, gradually taper dosage; do not abruptly discontinue therapy in these patients
Warn patients not to drive or operate dangerous machinery unless they are tolerant to effects of drug and know how they will react to medication
While serious, life-threatening, or fatal respiratory depression can occur at any time during therapy, risk is greatest during initiation of therapy or following dosage increase; monitor patients closely for respiratory depression, especially within first 24 to 72 hr of initiating therapy with and following dosage increases; accidental ingestion of even one dose, especially by children, can result in respiratory depression and death due to overdose of codeine
Deaths have occurred in nursing infants exposed to high levels of morphine in breast milk because mothers were ultra-rapid metabolizers of codeine
Do not abruptly discontinue buprenorphine in a patient physically dependent on opioids; when discontinuing therapy, in a physically dependent patient, gradually taper the dosage; rapid tapering in a patient physically dependent on opioids may lead to a withdrawal syndrome and return of pain
Profound sedation, respiratory depression, coma, and death may result from concomitant administration with benzodiazepines or other CNS depressants (e.g., non-benzodiazepine sedatives/hypnotics, anxiolytics, tranquilizers, muscle relaxants, general anesthetics, antipsychotics, other opioids, alcohol); because of these risks, reserve concomitant prescribing of these drugs for use in patients for whom alternative treatment options are inadequate
Use in patients with acute or severe bronchial asthma in an unmonitored setting or in absence of resuscitative equipment is contraindicated; patients with significant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cor pulmonale, and with substantially decreased respiratory reserve, hypoxia, hypercapnia, or pre-existing respiratory depression are at increased risk of decreased respiratory drive including apnea, even at recommended dosages
Life-threatening respiratory depression is more likely to occur in elderly, cachectic, or debilitated patients because they may have altered pharmacokinetics or altered clearance compared to younger, healthier patients; monitor closely
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) may potentiate effects of morphine, codeine’s active metabolite, including respiratory depression, coma, and confusion; therapy should not be administered within 14 days of taking MAOIs
Cases of adrenal insufficiency reported with opioid use, more often following greater than one month of use; symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, anorexia, fatigue, weakness, dizziness, and low blood pressure; if adrenal insufficiency is diagnosed, treat with physiologic replacement doses of corticosteroids; wean patient off of opioid to allow adrenal function to recover and continue corticosteroid treatment until adrenal function recovers; other opioids may be tried as some cases reported use of a different opioid without recurrence of adrenal insufficiency
Chronic use of opioids may cause reduced fertility in females and males of reproductive potential. It is not known whether these effects on fertility are reversible
Use caution when selecting dosage for an elderly patient, usually starting at low end of dosing range, reflecting greater frequency of decreased hepatic, renal, or cardiac function and of concomitant disease or other drug therapy; because elderly patients are more likely to have decreased renal function, care should be taken in dose selection, and may be useful to monitor renal function
Codeine pharmacokinetics may be altered in patients with renal failure; clearance may be decreased and metabolites may accumulate much higher plasma levels in patients with renal failure as compared to patients with normal renal function; start with a lower than normal dosage or with longer dosing intervals and titrate slowly while monitoring for signs of respiratory depression, sedation, and hypotension
Use caution in cardiac arrhythmias, drug abuse/dependence, emotional lability, gallbladder disease, head injury, hepatic impairment, hypothyroidism, increased ICP, prostatic hypertrophy, renal impairment, seizures with epilepsy, urethral stricture, urinary tract surgeryLife-threatening respiratory depression and death reported in children who received codeine; codeine is subject to variability in metabolism based upon CYP2D6 genotype (described below), which can lead to an increased exposure to active metabolite morphine; based upon post-marketing reports, children younger than 12 years old appear to be more susceptible to the respiratory depressant effects of codeine, particularly if there are risk factors for respiratory depression; children with obstructive sleep apnea who are treated with codeine for post-tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy pain may be particularly sensitive to respiratory depressant effect
When prescribing codeine for adolescents, healthcare providers should choose lowest effective dose for shortest period of time and inform patients and caregivers about risks and signs of morphine overdose
At least one death reported in a nursing infant exposed to high levels of morphine in breast milk because mother was an ultra-rapid metabolizer of codeine; breastfeeding is not recommended during treatment with codeine sulfate oral solution
Risk of life-threatening side effects in nursing infants, especially if mother is an ultra-rapid metabolizer of codeine
Opioid analgesic risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS)
- To ensure that benefits of opioid analgesics outweigh risks of addiction, abuse, and misuse, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has required a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for these products
- Discuss the safe use, serious risks, and proper storage and disposal of opioid analgesics with patients and/or their caregivers every time these medicines are prescribed; use the following link to obtain the Patient Counseling Guide (PCG): www.fda.gov/OpioidAnalgesicREMSPCG
- Emphasize to patients and their caregivers the importance of reading the Medication Guide that they will receive from their pharmacist every time an opioid analgesic is dispensed to them
- Consider using other tools to improve patient, household, and community safety, such as patient-prescriber agreements that reinforce patient-prescriber responsibilities
- To obtain further information on opioid analgesic REMS and for a list of accredited REMS CME/CE, call 1-800-503-0784, or log on to www.opioidanalgesicrems.com; the FDA Blueprint can be found at www.fda.gov/OpioidAnalgesicREMSBlueprint
Postoperative pain in children
- Prescribe an alternate analgesic for postoperative pain control in children undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy
- Deaths have occurred in children with obstructive sleep apnea who received codeine for postoperative pain following tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy
- Codeine is converted to morphine by the liver; these children had evidence of being ultra-rapid metabolizers (via CYP2D6) of codeine, which is an inherited (genetic) ability that causes codeine to be converted rapidly into life-threatening or fatal amounts of morphine
Pregnancy & Lactation
Pregnancy: Prolonged use of opioid analgesics during pregnancy for medical or nonmedical purposes can result in physical dependence in the neonate and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome shortly after birth; observe newborns for symptoms of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome and manage accordingly; opioids cross placenta and may produce respiratory depression and psycho-physiologic effects in neonates; an opioid antagonist, such as naloxone, must be available for reversal of opioid-induced respiratory depression in the neonate; codeine sulfate is not recommended for use in pregnant women during or immediately prior to labor, when other analgesic techniques are more appropriate; opioid analgesics can prolong labor through actions which temporarily reduce strength, duration, and frequency of uterine contractions
Lactation: Codeine is secreted into human milk; in women with normal codeine metabolism (normal CYP2D6 activity), amount of codeine secreted into human milk is low and dose-dependent; some women are ultra-rapid metabolizers of codeine; these women achieve higher-than-expected serum levels of codeine's active metabolite, morphine, leading to higher-than-expected levels of morphine in breast milk and potentially dangerously high serum morphine levels in their breastfed infants that can potentially lead to serious adverse reactions, including death, in nursing infants; there is no information on effects of codeine on milk production
Developmental and health benefits of breastfeeding should be considered along with mother’s clinical need for therapy and any potential adverse effects on breastfed infant from therapy or from underlying maternal condition
Pregnancy Categories
A: Generally acceptable. Controlled studies in pregnant women show no evidence of fetal risk.
B: May be acceptable. Either animal studies show no risk but human studies not available or animal studies showed minor risks and human studies done and showed no risk. C: Use with caution if benefits outweigh risks. Animal studies show risk and human studies not available or neither animal nor human studies done. D: Use in LIFE-THREATENING emergencies when no safer drug available. Positive evidence of human fetal risk. X: Do not use in pregnancy. Risks involved outweigh potential benefits. Safer alternatives exist. NA: Information not available.Pharmacology
Mechanism of Action
Narcotic agonist analgesic with antitussive activity, mu receptor agonist
Absorption
Onset: 30-60 min (PO); 10-30 min (IM)
Duration: 4-6 hr
Peak plasma time: 0.5-1 hr
Distribution
Protein bound: 25%
Vd: 3.5 L/kg (PO); 2.6 L/kg (IM)
Metabolism
Prodrug metabolized to morphine by CYP2D6; demethylated/conjugated in liver (undergoes O-demethylation, N-demethylation, and partial conjugation with glucuronic acid)
Elimination
Half-life: 3-4 hr
Excretion: Urine, feces
Pharmacogenomics
10% of codeine is metabolized to morphine by CYP2D6; the active morphine metabolite has a higher affinity for opioid receptors
CYP2D6 poor metabolizers may not achieve adequate analgesia
Ultra-rapid metabolizers (up to 7% of Caucasians and up to 30% of Asian and African populations) may have increased toxicity due to rapid conversion
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Patient Handout
Formulary
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