Codeine and Brain death - a phase IV clinical study of FDA data

Summary:

Brain death is reported as a side effect among people who take Codeine (codeine sulfate), especially for people who are female, 40-49 old, also take Oxazepam,.

The study is created by eHealthMe based on reports of 41,713 people who have side effects when taking Codeine from the FDA, and is updated regularly.

What is Codeine?

Codeine has active ingredients of codeine sulfate. It is often used in pain. eHealthMe is studying from 42,341 Codeine users. Check the latest studies of Codeine.

On Aug, 22, 2025

41,713 people reported to have side effects when taking Codeine.
Among them, 17 people (0.04%) died.

Among these 17 people:

What is the gender of people who died when taking Codeine? *

female: 81.25 %
male: 18.75 %

What is the age of people who died when taking Codeine? *

What are other drugs people take besides Codeine? *

Oxazepam: 12 people, 70.59%
Valproic Acid: 10 people, 58.82%
Valproate Sodium: 10 people, 58.82%
Midazolam: 10 people, 58.82%
Morphine: 8 people, 47.06%
Dronabinol: 6 people, 35.29%
Cetirizine Hydrochloride: 6 people, 35.29%
Morphine Sulfate: 3 people, 17.65%
Paracetamol: 1 person, 5.88%
Temazepam: 1 person, 5.88%

What are other side effects people have before they died? *

Drug Abuse: 11 people, 64.71%
Cardiac Arrest: 10 people, 58.82%
Breathing - Slowed Or Stopped: 10 people, 58.82%
Depressed Level Of Consciousness: 6 people, 35.29%
Consciousness - Decreased: 4 people, 23.53%
Brain Oedema (excess accumulation of fluid in the intracellular or extracellular spaces of the brain): 3 people, 17.65%
Acute Hepatic Failure: 2 people, 11.76%
Tracheal Haemorrhage (bleeding from trachea): 1 person, 5.88%
Small Intestinal Haemorrhage (bleeding from small intestine): 1 person, 5.88%
Seizures (abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain): 1 person, 5.88%

* Approximation only. Some reports may have incomplete information.

Related studies:

Effectiveness of, long term effects of, and alternative drugs to Codeine:

Codeine (42,341 reports)

Expand to all the drugs that have ingredients of codeine sulfate:

Brain death and drugs with ingredients of codeine sulfate

Sub-studies by gender and age:

Female: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Male: 0-1 2-9 10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Browse all side effects of Codeine:

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Browse all the drugs that are associated with Brain death:

Brain death (399 drugs)

Browse all the conditions that are associated with Brain death:

Brain death (489 conditions)

Drugs similar to Codeine and Brain death :

How the study uses the data?

The study uses data from the FDA. It is based on codeine sulfate (the active ingredients of Codeine) and Codeine (the brand name). Other drugs that have the same active ingredients (e.g. generic drugs) are not considered. Dosage of drugs is not considered in the study.

How to use the study?

DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting your doctor. If there are any serious or long term adverse effects discovered in the study, discuss the study with your doctor to ensure that proper medication management will be in place if applicable.

Who is eHealthMe?

With medical big data and proven AI/ML algorithms, eHealthMe provides a platform for everyone to run phase IV clinical trials. We study millions of patients and 5,000 more each day. Results of our real-world drug study have been referenced on 800+ peer-reviewed medical publications, including The Lancet, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Nature. Our analysis results are available to researchers, health care professionals, patients (testimonials), and software developers (open API).

WARNING, DISCLAIMER, USE FOR PUBLICATION

WARNING: Please DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting a physician since doing so could be hazardous to your health.

DISCLAIMER: All material available on eHealthMe.com is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. All information is observation-only. Our phase IV clinical studies alone cannot establish cause-effect relationship. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.

If you use this eHealthMe study on publication, please acknowledge it with a citation: study title, URL, accessed date.