Reported Reactions

Drugs › Corticosteroid

Generic name

Hydrocortisone butyrate: adverse event reports filed with FDA

1,368 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2010–2026. Class: Corticosteroid.

1,368
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 86 a year
309
reports, 12 months to June 2026
316 in the 12 months before
97.6%
marked serious by the reporter
77.7% across the class
63.1%
record death among outcomes, as reported
863 reports · not verified by FDA

1,368 adverse event reports received by FDA list hydrocortisone butyrate, a generic name as a suspect or interacting product, from August 2010 to June 2026. A further 538 reports list it only as a concomitant medication, and those are not counted in the figures on this page.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 309 reports listed it, close to the 316 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 86 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 0.2% of the reports for the corticosteroid class. How many people take it is not in the data, so a count is not a rate of occurrence.

The reactions recorded most often are off label use (38.2%), drug ineffective (34.5%) and infusion related reaction (33.5%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 531 different terms appear across these reports. Off label use is recorded in 38.2% of these reports, a larger share than in the median corticosteroid drug (8.8%).

97.6% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (77.7% across the class); 63.1% record death among the outcomes and 77.6% record hospitalisation, as reported. 72.7% of the reports came from other health professionals, and the largest patient age group is 18 to 44 (55.8%). 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

02651Jul 2021: 4Aug 2021: 4Sep 2021: 9Oct 2021: 12Nov 2021: 2Dec 2021: 42022Jan 2022: 3Feb 2022: 10Mar 2022: 7Apr 2022: 14May 2022: 12Jun 2022: 6Jul 2022: 13Aug 2022: 19Sep 2022: 12Oct 2022: 11Nov 2022: 5Dec 2022: 92023Jan 2023: 7Feb 2023: 11Mar 2023: 11Apr 2023: 19May 2023: 29Jun 2023: 6Jul 2023: 9Aug 2023: 31Sep 2023: 29Oct 2023: 22Nov 2023: 14Dec 2023: 222024Jan 2024: 23Feb 2024: 26Mar 2024: 20Apr 2024: 25May 2024: 40Jun 2024: 31Jul 2024: 35Aug 2024: 31Sep 2024: 36Oct 2024: 30Nov 2024: 18Dec 2024: 122025Jan 2025: 30Feb 2025: 43Mar 2025: 39Apr 2025: 21May 2025: 1Jun 2025: 20Jul 2025: 51Aug 2025: 13Sep 2025: 44Oct 2025: 11Nov 2025: 18Dec 2025: 512026Jan 2026: 24Feb 2026: 22Mar 2026: 18Apr 2026: 10May 2026: 13Jun 2026: 34

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

01713422010: 220102011: 42013: 120132014: 12015: 320152016: 182017: 4520172018: 732019: 2020192020: 242021: 5620212022: 1212023: 21020232024: 3272025: 34220252026: 121

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Hydrocortisone butyrate reports recording the termmedian drug in corticosteroid

  1. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label38.2%522
  2. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected34.5%472
  3. Infusion related reactiona reaction during or soon after an infusion33.5%458
  4. Glossodynia32.8%449
  5. Systemic lupus erythematosuslupus, an autoimmune disease32.5%445
  6. Rashskin rash32.5%444
  7. Fatiguetiredness32%438
  8. Rheumatoid arthritisrheumatoid arthritis, an inflammatory joint disease31.8%435
  9. Swellingswelling30.8%422
  10. Wound30.4%416
  11. Hepatic enzyme increasedraised liver enzymes30.3%415
  12. Joint swellinga swollen joint30.3%415
  13. Drug intolerancethe medicine was not tolerated29.9%409
  14. General physical health deteriorationgeneral decline in health29.9%409
  15. Painpain, site not specified29.5%403
  16. Folliculitis29.4%402
  17. Synovitis29.4%402
  18. Stomatitissore mouth29.3%401
  19. Alopeciahair loss29%397
  20. Weight increasedweight gain28.9%396
  21. Impaired healingslow healing28.4%389
  22. Abdominal discomfortstomach discomfort27.7%379
  23. Type 2 diabetes mellitustype 2 diabetes27.7%379
  24. Fibromyalgia27.6%378
  25. Facet joint syndrome27.3%374

Top 30 of 531 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 74 drugs in the corticosteroid 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

Death63.1%863
Life-threatening68%930
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)77.6%1,061
Disability64.1%877
Congenital anomaly28.7%392
Other serious92.9%1,271
Not serious2.4%33

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 808,789 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 21.4%19
2 to 111.5%21
12 to 171.1%15
18 to 4455.8%763
45 to 649.7%133
65 to 745%69
75 and over1.8%25
Age not given23.6%323

Patient sex

Female71.3%976
Male6.9%95
Not given21.7%297

Who reported

Physician15.9%217
Pharmacist0.4%5
Other health professional72.7%994
Lawyer0.3%4
Consumer or non-health professional10.4%142
Not given0.4%6

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 7.6% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Rheumatoid arthritis63946.7%
Acute lymphocytic leukaemia372.7%
Eczema241.8%
Hypotension241.8%
Dermatitis atopic211.5%
Pruritus50.4%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 1,368 reports.

In context

MeasureHydrocortisone butyrateCorticosteroidAll reports
Reports as suspect product1,368808,78920,646,523
Share of that pool—0.2%0%
Reports, latest 12 months309—1,332,454
Marked serious97.6%77.7%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports63114691
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports776336213
Consumer-filed share10.4%29.1%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsOff label use 38.2%median 8.8%4.1%

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 corticosteroid class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Prednisonegeneric183,86715,61491.4%
Dexamethasonegeneric129,6779,21695.1%
Prednisolonegeneric87,8066,62497.6%
Methylprednisolonegeneric49,5374,43095.2%
Symbicortbrand39,1191,17750.6%
Breo Elliptabrand22,22062831.7%
Hydrocortisonegeneric21,2632,38689.5%
Advair Diskusbrand20,51812029%
Advair Hfabrand19,62258954.9%
Budesonidegeneric14,7141,08382.2%
Desoximetasonegeneric12,2091,52599.2%
Floventbrand10,77217142.1%
Methylprednisolone sodium succinategeneric10,7721,63097.8%
Solu-medrolgeneric10,28843288.8%
Ciprobrand9,79110857.3%

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 Hydrocortisone butyrate reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Hydrocortisone butyrate?

1,368 reports list Hydrocortisone butyrate as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 309 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 538 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Hydrocortisone butyrate reports?

off label use (38.2%), drug ineffective (34.5%), infusion related reaction (33.5%), glossodynia (32.8%) and systemic lupus erythematosus (32.5%). 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 Hydrocortisone butyrate was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

97.6% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 63.1% of reports include death and 77.6% 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 (72.7%), physician (15.9%) and consumer or non-health professional (10.4%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Hydrocortisone butyrate rising?

309 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, close to the 316 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 Hydrocortisone butyrate 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 Hydrocortisone butyrate?

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 Hydrocortisone butyrate as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (538) 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.