Source: Health Products Regulatory Authority (IE) Revision Year: 2022 Publisher: Mercury Pharmaceuticals (Ireland) Ltd, 4045 Kingswood Road, Citywest Business Park, Co Dublin, Ireland
Pharmacotherapeutic group: Analgesics, Opoids
ATC code: N02AA59
Codeine is a centrally acting analgesic. The anti-tussive activity of codeine is probably due to its depressant effect on the medullary cough centre in the brain.
Codeine is a centrally acting weak analgesic. Codeine exerts its effect through μ opioid receptors, although codeine has low affinity for these receptors, and its analgesic effect is due to its conversion to morphine. Codeine, particularly in combination with other analgesics such as paracetamol, has been shown to be effective in acute nociceptive pain.
Codeine phosphate is readily absorbed from the gut.
The drug is metabolized in the liver and is excreted through urine as conjugates. The plasma half–life is 3-4 hours. Codeine crosses the blood-brain and placental barriers and detectable amounts have been reported to occur in the breast milk.
No relevant information other than that which is reported in other sections of the Summary of Product Characteristics.
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