Strong Opioids

PH3740 / 8865

OpenSAFELY

Jan 26, 2026

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OpenCodelists Phenotype

  1. Overview

    Codelist ID
    opensafely/strongopioidsCW
    Version ID
    25d18aa6
    Coding System
    BNF codes
    Collections
    OpenCodelistPhenotype Library
    Tags
    No data

  2. Definition

    This codelist was taken from OpenCodelists, created by OpenSAFELY. We recommend viewing this Phenotype on the OpenCodelist website to view the most recent version.

    ##### User requirements A codelist is needed of all strong opioids used for analgesia (any route) excluding cough suppression, motility, general anaesthesia, opiate use disorder - this is for a project looking at opioid prescribing for patients on hospital waiting lists. This will use the BNF definition of strong opioids https://bnf.nice.org.uk/treatment-summaries/analgesics/

    Sensitivity versus specificity

    All strong opioids

    Relevant definitions or links to important reference sources

    BNF definition of weak/strong opioids - https://bnf.nice.org.uk/treatment-summaries/analgesics/:

    Existing relevant codelists

    Nil

    © University of Oxford for the Bennett Institute for Applied Data Science 2025. This work may be copied freely for non-commercial research and study.

  3. Methodology

    Search terms / synonyms / search strategy

    Strategy - include all opioids identified in the codelist Opioids for analgesia But then exclude any identified in the codelist Weak opioids

    Inclusion criteria for codes

    Any strong opioid

    Exclusion criteria for codes

    Weak opioids

    Borderline cases

    Nil

  4. References

    Source Reference

    https://www.opencodelists.org/codelist/opensafely/strongopioidsCW/25d18aa6

    References

  5. Clinical Codelist

  6. API

    To Export Phenotype Details:

    FormatAPI
    JSON site_root/api/v1/phenotypes/PH3740/version/8865/detail/?format=json
    R Package

    # Download here

    library(ConceptLibraryClient)


    # Connect to API

    client = ConceptLibraryClient::Connection$new(public=TRUE)


    # Get details of Phenotype

    phenotype_details = client$phenotypes$get_detail(
     'PH3740',
     version_id=8865
    )

    Py Package

    # Download here

    from pyconceptlibraryclient import Client


    # Connect to API

    client = Client(public=True)


    # Get details of Phenotype

    phenotype_detail = client.phenotypes.get_detail(
     'PH3740',
     version_id=8865
    )

    To Export Phenotype Code List:

    FormatAPI
    JSON site_root/api/v1/phenotypes/PH3740/version/8865/export/codes/?format=json
    R Package

    # Download here

    library(ConceptLibraryClient)


    # Connect to API

    client = ConceptLibraryClient::Connection$new(public=TRUE)


    # Get codelist of Phenotype

    phenotype_codelist = client$phenotypes$get_codelist(
     'PH3740',
     version_id=8865
    )

    Py Package

    # Download here

    from pyconceptlibraryclient import Client


    # Connect to API

    client = Client(public=True)


    # Get codelist of Phenotype

    phenotype_codelist = client.phenotypes.get_codelist(
     'PH3740',
     version_id=8865
    )

  7. Version History

    Version IDNameOwnerPublish date
    Strong Opioids ieuan.scanlon2026-01-26 23:32