Drug reference

Pholcodine

Antitussive

Also known as 3-O-(2-morpholinoethyl) morphine

Antitussive

CDSCO approvedSchedule H

EXCRETION

—

not curated

INTERACTIONS

—

none in our sources

PREGNANCY

—

not curated

Mechanism

Pholcodine is a centrally acting antitussive agent. Although structurally related to opioids, it has no opioid-like actions because the substitution at the 3-position is not removed by metabolism. It is effective in reducing the frequency and intensity of coughing.

Indications

Cough suppression (when cough does not serve a useful purpose, causes annoyance, prevents rest/sleep, or hinders medication adherence)Chronic cough contributing to fatiguecough suppressant (used clinically in many countries outside the U.S.)

Dosing

Adult: separate dose, total quantity, etc); . for liquids, the total volume in millilitres (in both words and ﬁgures) of the preparation to be supplied; for dosage units (tablets, capsules, ampoules), state the total number (in both words and ﬁgures) of dosage units to be supplied (e.g. 10 tablets [of 10 mg] rather than 100 mg total quantity); . the dose, which must be clearly deﬁned (i.e.…