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Implication for health policy/practice/research/medical education: Oxycodone, an analgesic opioid, is used for many types of pain, and is especially useful for severe and acute pain. The aim of this article is to highlight findings relating to the use of oxycodone in the field of pain management. Oxycodone is an analgesic opioid medication that is gen-erally used for the relief of moderate-to-severe pain. It was first developed by German researchers in 1916 from opium-derived thebaine (1). Oxycontin was approved by the FDA in 1995, and was introduced into the United States market in 1996 (2). By 2001 it was the best-selling narcotic pain reliever in the United States, and in 2008 sales in the United States reached $2.5 billion (3). Oxycodone is metabolized by the cytochrome p450 en-zyme system in the liver. Only 10 % is excreted unchanged in urine (4, 5). Because it is metabolized by CYP3A4 and CYP2D6 enzymes, oxycodone is prone to pharmacoki