Document And Entity Information	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017 shares
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	20-F
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Registrant Name	Cardiome Pharma Corp
Entity Central Index Key	0001036141
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Trading Symbol	CRME
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	34,637,312