In both 2022 and 2023, the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths was highest for American Indian and Alaska Native people and lowest among Asian people. Despite decreases in the overall rate, the rate only significantly decreased for White people. Rate changes for American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, and Hispanic people were not significant, and rates significantly increased for Black and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander people. From 2022 to 2023, the age-adjusted rate of drug overdose decreased 2.9% for males and 5.7% for females. In both 2022 and 2023, adults ages 35–44 had the highest rate among people age 15 and older.
Purdue developed OxyContin as a cure for pain — and for a financial problem.
These may be symptoms of opioid-induced hyperalgesia and allodynia. Using this medicine while you are pregnant may cause serious unwanted effects, including neonatal withdrawal syndrome in your newborn baby. Tell your doctor right away if you think you are pregnant or if you plan to become pregnant while using this medicine.
Resources for substance use disorders

Know the symptoms of an overdose, such as trouble breathing, unusually tired or sleepy, or not being able to respond or wake up. Make sure to tell caregivers and close contacts where your naloxone is stored. After naloxone is given, the person giving it must call emergency services. Americans are the world’s largest consumers of drugs and consistently have among the highest rates of opioid and cocaine dependence globally.
Risk Factors For Oxycodone Overdose
The same is true if you take a form that includes another medicine, such as acetaminophen, aspirin, or ibuprofen. You only need to take the extended-release versions once or twice a day. Among Oxford House the reasons that excessive opioid use can become problematic is the propensity for users to experience both major and minor side-effects. Throughout the course of treatment, stay vigilant of how you’re feeling and keep your healthcare provider informed on your progress. An individual may be able to reduce this risk by only taking OxyContin as a healthcare professional has directed. If they believe they are experiencing opioid dependence, they must seek help from a healthcare or mental health professional.
- The most successful recovery programs combine medication, therapy, and ongoing support to help people rebuild their lives without opioids.
- An active ingredient in other formulations of opioids, in its pure form, oxycodone, is usually a tablet or capsule, though it may be prescribed in liquid form.
- Pediatric Use The safety and efficacy of OXYCONTIN have been established in pediatric patients ages 11 to 16 years.
- Inform patients and caregivers not to increase opioid dosage without first consulting a clinician.
- This depression includes respiratory depression, so an opioid overdose means that someone has taken a dose so large that it slows their breathing to the point that’s dangerous or deadly.
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According to the University of Cincinnati, oxycodone prescriptions reached a peak of approximately 10.4 million prescriptions in 2016 and decreased dramatically to approximately 5.9 million in 2019. According to the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), 984,000 Americans reported misusing oxycodone in the past year. In addition, oxycodone was the second most commonly abused prescription opioid, only being beaten by hydrocodone. There is little data about oxycodone addiction recovery specifically, but there is research around the recovery of opioid addiction recovery in general. Oxycodone addiction treatment may also address any mental health issues that commonly co-occur with substance use disorders. Men are more likely to use illicit how addictive is oxycontin drugs, but some research indicates that women are more likely to self-medicate their chronic pain, anxiety, and depression with opioids.
Symptoms of overdose

If you cannot swallow oxycodone extended-release capsules, you can open the capsule and sprinkle the medicine onto soft food (applesauce, pudding, ice cream, or jam) or into a cup of water. Both immediate-release oxycodone and OxyContin are powerful pain relievers. They both have been shown to be highly effective at treating pain. Following intravenous administration, the steady-state volume of distribution (Vss) for oxycodone was 2.6 L/kg. Oxycodone binding to plasma protein at 37°C and a pH of 7.4 was about 45%.
- Thus, the main objective of this study was to investigate differences in prescription prevalence for and toxicological findings of PDI and PKI drugs in oxycodone-related deaths.
- Evaluate patients at frequent intervals for respiratory depression and sedation.
- The presence of risk factors for overdose should not prevent the proper management of pain in any given patient see WARNINGS AND PRECAUTIONS.
Buprenorphine assists people in transitioning away from uncontrolled use and mitigates physical cravings. People who are prescribed it are often able to work, attend therapy and regain enjoyment of day-to-day life. As the overdose crisis evolves, communities of color in particular have experienced a surge in fatal overdoses – deaths that are often preventable. And most recently, COVID-19 supply chain disruptions led people to use whatever was available, causing a surge in overdoses from drug mixing. The INTOX group was more likely to have a PDI drug dispensed than the NONINTOX group (84% vs. 76%, OR 1.7, CI 1.2–2.3) (see Table 2; Fig. 2). Drugs in the ATC group N05 were more often prescribed than drugs in N02A (40% vs. 6%).