Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2025

High-throughput and Comprehensive Drug Surveillance Using Multisegment Injection-Capillary Electrophoresis-Mass Spectrometry
Published on: April 23, 2019
A preliminary study of hydrocodone and hydromorphone to oxycodone ratios for distinguishing impurities from
Ibrahim Choucair1, Cristina Figueroa Villalba1, Michael A Vera1
1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
Background:
Urine drug testing (UDT) monitors prescription compliance and/or drug abuse. However, interpretation of UDT results obtained by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) can be complicated by the presence of drug impurities that are detected by highly sensitive methods. Hydrocodone is a drug impurity that can be found as high as 1% in oxycodone pills.
Objectives:
We evaluated the frequency and concentration of hydrocodone and its metabolite, hydromorphone, in patients taking oxycodone to check if the ratio of hydrocodone or hydromorphone to oxycodone could distinguish between oxycodone only use from those consuming additional opiates.
Design & Methods:
We correlated LC-MS/MS results with medication records of 319 patients with positive oxycodone results over 7 months (4/2021-11/2021).
Results:
Fifteen of 319 patients with positive oxycodone results were taking oxycodone only. For these 15 patients, the mean ratio of hydrocodone to oxycodone was 0.57% (range 0.05%-3.35%), and the mean ratio of hydromorphone to oxycodone was 0.81% (range 0.18-3.51%).
Conclusions:
Hydrocodone and/or hydromorphone are detectable in patients taking only oxycodone and can likely be identified as an impurity if their calculated ratio to oxycodone is <1 %. Further validation of the ratios in a larger sample size is recommended.
More Related Videos
10:13Author Spotlight: An Efficient Methodology to Confidently Differentiate and Characterize Fentanyl Analogs
Published on: November 8, 2024
07:29HPLC Coupled with Chemical Fingerprinting for Multi-Pattern Recognition for Identifying the Authenticity of Clematidis Armandii Caulis
Published on: November 11, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Opioid Analgesics: Synthetic and Semisynthetic Opioids
Opioid Analgesics: Morphine and Other Natural Cogeners
Opioid Receptors: Overview
Analgesia and Pain Management
Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Drug Concentrations: Measurements
Plasma...