It causes thousands of deaths in the United States and its consumption is increasing in the country: why does oxycodone generate so much dependence?

In the United States, they declared "national emergency" in 2017 for opiate use. According to figures from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the overdose of this clbad of painkillers caused the deaths of more than 47,600 Americans that year.

The scandal that caused the deaths confirmed by this drug has pushed a group of more than 500 cities, counties and tribes indigenous to 26 states to lodge a complaint against all members of the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, the company that manufactures the drug OxyContin, the targeted addictive product.

In Argentina, oxycodone is sold under the trade name of Oxycontin., from the foreign laboratory Mundipharma Pharmaceuticals SRL, installed in 2016 in the country.

On July 17, 2018, the National Administration of Medicines, Foods and Medical Technologies (ANMAT) authorized the marketing of the drug through ANMAT provision No. 5743/09 and file No. 1-47- 1110-763-17-8. of the internal registration.

By Certificate No. 46,428, registration in the Register of Medicinal Specialties of this National Authority of the named product was authorized OXYCONTINE / OXICODONE HYDROCHLORIDE 10 mg – 20 mg – 40 mg; pharmaceutical form (s): sustained release coated tablets imported from the United States into Argentina.

From ANMAT, they confirmed to Infobae that the drug is authorized in Argentina as an badgesic and is available in 10, 20 and 40 mg tablets. It is indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe pain and is sold on official prescription.. They also indicated that its components and its adverse effects are reported on the official website of the agency.

And although the experts agreed that at the local level, their sale was much more controlled than in other countries, they cautioned against some inconvenience related to their consumption.

"It started to be a problem for the year 2015 and the beginning of 2016. We have several patients who arrived at Fernández Hospital with withdrawal symptoms due to this consumption or seek help from the toxicology department to be able to stop the inappropriate use of this medicine because it is not easy to leave it voluntarily, "confirmed the doctor.
medical toxicologist Carlos Damin.

In dialogue with Infobae, the chairman of Fundartox and head of the toxicology department of Fernández Hospital, explained that "it is a very powerful, well used and very useful badgesic".

"It is generally indicated to treat non-failing pains with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs of the Aines group, such as ibuprofen or diclofenac," the specialist said. It is prescribed by trauma specialists for fractured or postoperative pain and is widely used in oncology."

The main feature of this type of drug is, according to Damin, that "they generate a great physical dependence", which means that they can not be taken "for more than two or three days because they cause the need to increase the dose " "The effect they cause causes the patient to need more doses to achieve the same result.", explained the expert, who warned that "the effect is the same as that of psychotropic drugs but in a lot less time".

Therefore, if it takes longer than 15 days, it will result in a dependency such that its suspension generates a withdrawal syndrome in the person.

And after insisting that "is very effective, but very powerful," Damin said that "oxycodone belongs to the same family as methadone and tramadol" and that the latter's consumption is the most problematic of the country, because its sale is not so regulated.

"The oxycodone is prescribed in the special narcotic prescription, which doctors must acquire from the ANMAT, and the specialists must justify to that body the reason for which they indicated this drug," said Damin. type of badgesic is not prescribed, unlike what happens with tramadol, which is sold with the simple prescription and we see in the country a lot of patients with addiction ".

"It belongs to the same family of opiates, a little more tender than oxycodone, but with a similar dependence, so its consumption is not recommended for more than two or three days," he said. said Damin about tramadol.

In the toxicology department of Fernández Hospital attended in 2018 80 patients for consultations related to the abuse of this type of drugs. And the number of people helped has increased in the last three years.

– Not treated in time, are these types of addiction life-threatening?
– Opiate addiction, like any addiction, can be deadly. And in the case of this type of drug in particular, they present two risk situations: excess consumption, ie overdose, or abstinence in the event that they abruptly stop consuming endanger the life of the person.

Detoxification occurs with another substitute or by gradually reducing the dose. In order for the patient to not suffer from the pain that led to this addiction, another pain reliever is indicated while the other medication is suspended.