Methadone: adverse event reports filed with FDA

24,293

reports as suspect product

0.1% of all reports · about 1,092 a year

909

reports, 12 months to June 2026

1,085 in the 12 months before

94.7%

marked serious by the reporter

91.7% across the class

44%

record death among outcomes, as reported

10,691 reports · not verified by FDA

Reports by month, five years

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

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Methadone reports recording the termmedian drug in opioid agonist

1. Drug dependencedependence on a medicine20.8%5,056
2. Drug abusemisuse of a medicine17.3%4,206
3. Toxicity to various agentspoisoning or toxic effect of one or more substances17.1%4,144
4. Overdosea dose above the recommended amount12.5%3,025
5. Deaththe patient died; cause not stated by this term10.9%2,660
6. Painpain, site not specified10.5%2,539
7. Emotional distressemotional distress8.9%2,159
8. Drug withdrawal syndromesymptoms on stopping a medicine8.2%1,998
9. Foetal exposure during pregnancythe unborn baby was exposed to the medicine5.6%1,362
10. Drug interactionan interaction between medicines4.9%1,196
11. Drug withdrawal syndrome neonatal4.7%1,135
12. Completed suicidedeath by suicide4.2%1,030
13. Cardiac arrestthe heart stopped3.8%917
14. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected3.5%858
15. Anxietyanxiety3.1%741
16. Somnolencedrowsiness3%736
17. Respiratory depressionslow or shallow breathing3%734
18. Respiratory arrestbreathing stopped3%728
19. Cardio-respiratory arrestthe heart and breathing stopped2.8%686
20. Electrocardiogram QT prolongeda QT prolongation on the ECG2.6%622
21. Developmental delayslower development in a child2.5%616
22. Coma2.5%597
23. Intentional product misusedeliberate use not as intended2.4%578
24. Learning disability2.2%535
25. Depressed level of consciousness2.1%519
26. Maternal exposure during pregnancythe mother took the medicine during pregnancy2%497
27. Disability2%494
28. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label1.9%471
29. Withdrawal syndrome1.9%467
30. Poisoning1.9%464

Top 30 of 1,673 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 42 drugs in the opioid agonist 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

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 965,051 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

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 65% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 24,293 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Other products listed in reports where Methadone 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

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 opioid agonist class

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.

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 Methadone as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (12,248) 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.