Reported Reactions

Drugs › Anticholinergic

Generic name

Atropine: adverse event reports filed with FDA

2,386 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2004–2026. Class: Anticholinergic. Also reported as Atropine Ophthalmic.

2,386
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 106 a year
160
reports, 12 months to June 2026
158 in the 12 months before
95.7%
marked serious by the reporter
39.6% across the class
12.2%
record death among outcomes, as reported
291 reports · not verified by FDA

Between January 2004 and June 2026, 2,386 adverse event reports received by FDA list atropine, a generic name as a suspect or interacting product. Reports that mention it only as a concomitant medication (5,910) are left out of every figure here.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 160 reports listed it, close to the 158 of the 12 months before. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases. Over its reporting history that is about 106 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 1.5% of the reports for the anticholinergic class. How many people take it is not in the data, so a count is not a rate of occurrence.

The MedDRA terms listed most often are drug ineffective (16%), hypotension (9.2%) and toxicity to various agents (8.7%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 694 different terms appear across these reports. Drug ineffective is recorded in 16% of these reports, a larger share than in the median anticholinergic drug (9.2%).

95.7% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (39.6% across the class); 12.2% record death among the outcomes and 44.3% record hospitalisation, as reported. 49.6% of the reports came from other health professionals, and the largest patient age group is 45 to 64 (21.8%). FDA states that "a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report" and that for any given report "there is no certainty that a suspected drug caused the event."

Reports by month, five years

01733Jul 2021: 22Aug 2021: 15Sep 2021: 10Oct 2021: 11Nov 2021: 20Dec 2021: 82022Jan 2022: 7Feb 2022: 26Mar 2022: 12Apr 2022: 19May 2022: 20Jun 2022: 10Jul 2022: 20Aug 2022: 10Sep 2022: 23Oct 2022: 26Nov 2022: 18Dec 2022: 172023Jan 2023: 11Feb 2023: 33Mar 2023: 23Apr 2023: 21May 2023: 19Jun 2023: 14Jul 2023: 17Aug 2023: 17Sep 2023: 15Oct 2023: 22Nov 2023: 21Dec 2023: 222024Jan 2024: 22Feb 2024: 16Mar 2024: 19Apr 2024: 27May 2024: 17Jun 2024: 7Jul 2024: 11Aug 2024: 9Sep 2024: 14Oct 2024: 29Nov 2024: 13Dec 2024: 32025Jan 2025: 14Feb 2025: 6Mar 2025: 22Apr 2025: 14May 2025: 10Jun 2025: 13Jul 2025: 15Aug 2025: 9Sep 2025: 11Oct 2025: 12Nov 2025: 18Dec 2025: 122026Jan 2026: 24Feb 2026: 8Mar 2026: 17Apr 2026: 12May 2026: 11Jun 2026: 11

Reports by the month FDA received them. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases.

By year received

01182352004: 3320042005: 252006: 412007: 1820072008: 462009: 352010: 4020102011: 772012: 582013: 4220132014: 422015: 1342016: 9920162017: 1062018: 1482019: 17720192020: 1932021: 2032022: 20820222023: 2352024: 1872025: 15620252026: 83

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Atropine reports recording the termmedian drug in anticholinergic

  1. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected16%382
  2. Hypotensionlow blood pressure9.2%219
  3. Toxicity to various agentspoisoning or toxic effect of one or more substances8.7%207
  4. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label7.7%183
  5. Bradycardiaslow heart rate6.3%150
  6. Painpain, site not specified5.3%126
  7. Cardiac arrestthe heart stopped4.9%118
  8. Hypertensionhigh blood pressure4.6%109
  9. Constipationconstipation4.4%105
  10. Drug interactionan interaction between medicines4.4%105
  11. Falla fall4.4%105
  12. Nauseafeeling sick4.3%102
  13. Overdosea dose above the recommended amount4.2%101
  14. Tachycardiafast heart rate4.2%101
  15. Dyspnoeashortness of breath3.3%78
  16. Product use in unapproved indicationused for a purpose not on the label3.3%78
  17. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools3.1%75
  18. Sedationdrowsiness from a medicine3.1%75
  19. Condition aggravatedthe condition being treated got worse3%71
  20. Pyrexiafever3%71
  21. Balance disorderproblems with balance2.9%69
  22. Mobility decreasedreduced ability to move about2.8%68
  23. Headachehead pain2.6%62
  24. Sedation complication2.6%62
  25. Cognitive disorderproblems with thinking or memory2.6%61
  26. Erythemaskin redness2.6%61
  27. Creatinine renal clearance decreased2.5%60
  28. Drug abusemisuse of a medicine2.5%60

Top 30 of 694 MedDRA preferred terms recorded across these reports, with a plain-language gloss where one is available. One report can record several terms. The hollow bar is the median share across the 24 drugs in the anticholinergic class; it describes the reports, not the patients. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Outcomes recorded

Death12.2%291
Life-threatening18.2%435
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)44.3%1,057
Disability1.5%36
Congenital anomaly0.2%4
Other serious63.7%1,520
Not serious4.3%103

Outcome flags as the reporter set them; a report can carry several, and "other serious" is FDA's own category for serious reports outside the named outcomes. Grey bar: all 159,807 reports in the class. FDA has not verified any outcome and states that the reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence of these events."

Patients and reporters

Patient age

Under 23.4%80
2 to 113.2%77
12 to 172.3%56
18 to 4418.2%434
45 to 6421.8%520
65 to 7413.3%317
75 and over10%238
Age not given27.8%664

Patient sex

Female44.3%1,058
Male35.9%857
Not given19.7%471

Who reported

Physician30.6%729
Pharmacist6.7%160
Other health professional49.6%1,184
Lawyer0.1%2
Consumer or non-health professional8.2%196
Not given4.8%115

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 29% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Bradycardia1074.5%
Anaesthesia642.7%
Salivary hypersecretion592.5%
Premedication522.2%
Prophylaxis461.9%
Coronary artery disease451.9%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 2,386 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of Atropine reports
Propofol29512.4%
Fentanyl27911.7%
Acetaminophen27011.3%
Epinephrine24110.1%
Ondansetron1687%
Aspirin1636.8%
Morphine sulfate1496.2%
Diazepam1446%
Midazolam1436%
Dexamethasone1315.5%

Other products listed in reports where Atropine is a suspect product, whatever their own role. Co-listing means the two were recorded together; it says nothing about either product's part in the event. Only the 2,500 most-reported names are counted here.

In context

MeasureAtropineAnticholinergicAll reports
Reports as suspect product2,386159,80720,646,523
Share of that pool—1.5%0%
Reports, latest 12 months160—1,332,454
Marked serious95.7%39.6%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports1226391
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports443202213
Consumer-filed share8.2%70.6%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsDrug ineffective 16%median 9.2%6.3%

Shares are of reports, not of patients treated. The number of people taking a product is not in the data, so none of these figures is a rate, and differences between columns reflect who takes a product, who reports and how long it has been sold. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic."

Other drugs in the anticholinergic class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Tiotropium bromidegeneric76,91761632.3%
Trelegy Elliptabrand26,7952,47235.1%
Anoro Elliptabrand12,55434626.3%
Ipratropium bromidegeneric8,31040080.2%
Spiriva Respimatbrand5,58124649.3%
Incruse Elliptabrand4,57512936.1%
Tudorza Pressairbrand3,858832.1%
Stiolto Respimatbrand2,89917225.2%
Glycopyrrolategeneric2,22525892.3%
Transderm Scopbrand1,4981543%
Benztropinegeneric1,49216794.2%
Bevespi Aerospherebrand1,4676235.6%
Scopolaminegeneric1,26012568.6%
Atropine sulfategeneric1,1684784.7%
Aclidinium bromidegeneric1,0136398.6%

Ordered by report count for navigation only. FDA states that adverse event reports "represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product", that "common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product", and that the data "by themselves are not an indicator of the safety profile of the drug or biologic." A brand and its generic are separate rows because reporters name them separately.

Questions about Atropine reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Atropine?

2,386 reports list Atropine as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 160 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 5,910 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Atropine reports?

drug ineffective (16%), hypotension (9.2%), toxicity to various agents (8.7%), off label use (7.7%) and bradycardia (6.3%). These are MedDRA preferred terms coded from what the reporter described; a report can list several, and a term's presence is not a finding that Atropine was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

95.7% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 12.2% of reports include death and 44.3% include hospitalisation. FDA has not verified these outcomes and states that the reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence" of the events.

Who files these reports?

other health professional (49.6%), physician (30.6%) and consumer or non-health professional (8.2%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Atropine rising?

160 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, close to the 158 of the 12 months before. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases. Counts also move with how many people take a product, its time on the market and publicity.

Do these reports show that Atropine was responsible for these reactions?

No. FDA states that "a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report" and that for any given report "there is no certainty that a suspected drug caused the event." The reaction may relate to the condition being treated, to other medicines, or to something else.

Is this a list of the side effects of Atropine?

No. It is a count of what was reported to FDA. The adverse reactions observed in clinical studies are printed on the FDA-approved label, which a pharmacist or clinician can go through with you.

How do I report an adverse event?

Consumers and health professionals can report to FDA through MedWatch (Form FDA 3500 online, or 1-800-FDA-1088), or to the manufacturer, which must pass reports on. See the guide on how to report.

Where this comes from. Counts are built from the openFDA Drug Adverse Event (FAERS) bulk export released 28 Sep 2026, which holds reports FDA received through 30 Jun 2026. Drug names are as reported, resolved to the brand or generic name on the FDA label where openFDA's harmonisation matched them; classes are the pharmacologic class (EPC) from the label and the National Drug Code Directory of 17 Sep 2026. A report counts here when it lists Atropine as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (5,910) are excluded. No report narrative, lot number, patient detail or reporter identity is published. See the methodology and sources; FDA's record is authoritative, and corrections are handled within five working days.

Drug data (FAERS) through 30 Jun 2026; device data (MAUDE) through 31 Aug 2026. Not medical advice.