Buprenorphine and Oxycodone: interaction and safety
This source-based reference is not a personal treatment recommendation. The relevance and management of an interaction depend on the exact products, route, dose and clinical situation.
Interaction mechanism
Partial opioid agonism can reduce analgesia or precipitate withdrawal; additive CNS effects.
Clinical significance and safety
Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist and may reduce the analgesic effect of oxycodone or precipitate withdrawal in a dependent person. The oxycodone prescribing information advises avoiding routine concomitant use; a clinically supervised transition is a separate situation. The prescriber should review the combination and monitor for the effects described; do not adjust the opioid or the other medicine independently. Very slow breathing, inability to wake or collapse requires emergency help.
Using this information
This is a source-based reference record, not a recommendation to combine, stop or change medicines. A missing interaction record does not establish safe use. A qualified healthcare professional should consider the exact products, doses, other medicines and individual health circumstances.