Codeine and Meningitis - a phase IV clinical study of FDA data

Summary:

Meningitis is reported as a side effect among people who take Codeine (codeine sulfate), especially for people who are female, 40-49 old, have been taking the drug for 1 - 6 months also take Tylenol, and have Crohn's disease.

The phase IV clinical study analyzes which people have Meningitis when taking Codeine. It 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.

What is Meningitis?

Meningitis (inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges) is found to be associated with 646 drugs and 872 conditions by eHealthMe. Check the latest studies of Meningitis.



On Oct, 09, 2025

41,713 people reported to have side effects when taking Codeine.
Among them, 23 people (0.06%) have Meningitis.

Could Codeine cause Meningitis?

Among these 23 people:

How long have people been on Codeine when they have Meningitis? *

  • < 1 month: 0.0 %
  • 1 - 6 months: 100 %
  • 6 - 12 months: 0.0 %
  • 1 - 2 years: 0.0 %
  • 2 - 5 years: 0.0 %
  • 5 - 10 years: 0.0 %
  • 10+ years: 0.0 %

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

  • female: 76.92 %
  • male: 23.08 %

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

  • 0-1: 0.0 %
  • 2-9: 0.0 %
  • 10-19: 0.0 %
  • 20-29: 0.0 %
  • 30-39: 0.0 %
  • 40-49: 63.64 %
  • 50-59: 18.18 %
  • 60+: 18.18 %

What are other drugs people take besides Codeine? *

  1. Tylenol: 18 people, 78.26%
  2. Calcium: 17 people, 73.91%
  3. Flovent: 16 people, 69.57%
  4. Flagyl: 16 people, 69.57%
  5. Inflectra: 10 people, 43.48%
  6. Vitamin D: 10 people, 43.48%
  7. Methotrexate: 10 people, 43.48%
  8. Folic Acid: 8 people, 34.78%
  9. Prednisone: 8 people, 34.78%
  10. Vitamins: 5 people, 21.74%

What are other side effects people have besides Meningitis? *

  1. Headache (pain in head): 19 people, 82.61%
  2. Anaemia (lack of blood): 18 people, 78.26%
  3. Fatigue (feeling of tiredness): 18 people, 78.26%
  4. Bronchitis (inflammation of the mucous membrane in the bronchial tubes): 16 people, 69.57%
  5. Anal Fistula: 16 people, 69.57%
  6. Bladder Dysplasia (abnormal changes in the cells on the surface of the bladder): 16 people, 69.57%
  7. Sinusitis (inflammation of sinus): 16 people, 69.57%
  8. Injection Site Pain: 16 people, 69.57%
  9. Drug Ineffective: 16 people, 69.57%
  10. Diarrhea Haemorrhagic: 15 people, 65.22%

What are the existing conditions these people have? *

  1. Ankylosing Spondylitis (type of arthritis affecting the spine): 16 people, 69.57%
  2. Crohn's Disease (a condition that causes inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract): 16 people, 69.57%
  3. Constipation: 2 people, 8.70%
  4. Tumor Pain: 1 person, 4.35%
  5. Itching: 1 person, 4.35%
  6. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe): 1 person, 4.35%
  7. Cough: 1 person, 4.35%
  8. Fever: 1 person, 4.35%
  9. Gastritis (inflammation of stomach): 1 person, 4.35%
  10. Growth Hormone Deficiency: 1 person, 4.35%

* Approximation only. Some reports may have incomplete information.

Do you take Codeine and have Meningitis?

- Check whether Meningitis is associated with a drug or a condition
- Predict drug outcomes for up to one year with AI
- Get an AI agent to monitor your drugs continuously



Related studies:

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

Meningitis treatments and more:

How severe was Meningitis and when was it recovered:

Expand to all the drugs that have 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 Meningitis:

Browse all the conditions that are associated with Meningitis:

Drugs similar to Codeine and Meningitis :


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.



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