Promethazine: adverse event reports filed with FDA

5,503

reports as suspect product

0% of all reports · about 245 a year

264

reports, 12 months to June 2026

282 in the 12 months before

92.7%

marked serious by the reporter

87.8% across the class

41.3%

record death among outcomes, as reported

2,275 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 Promethazine reports recording the termmedian drug in phenothiazine

1. Toxicity to various agentspoisoning or toxic effect of one or more substances19%1,043
2. Completed suicidedeath by suicide12%661
3. Drug abusemisuse of a medicine10.1%555
4. Intentional overdosea deliberate overdose6.2%340
5. Drug interactionan interaction between medicines5.6%310
6. Nauseafeeling sick5.4%296
7. Deaththe patient died; cause not stated by this term5.1%283
8. Overdosea dose above the recommended amount4.9%271
9. Cardiac arrestthe heart stopped4.5%249
10. Vomitingbeing sick4.4%240
11. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected3.9%217
12. Somnolencedrowsiness3.8%210
13. Suicide attempta suicide attempt3.7%206
14. Respiratory arrestbreathing stopped3.7%205
15. Cardio-respiratory arrestthe heart and breathing stopped3.7%203
16. Confusional stateconfusion3.4%186
17. Poisoning3.2%177
18. Dizzinesslight-headedness or unsteadiness3.2%174
19. Serotonin syndrometoo much serotonin activity, with agitation, fever and tremor2.7%147
20. Anxietyanxiety2.5%140
21. Fatiguetiredness2.5%137
22. Agitationrestlessness2.5%136
23. Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools2.4%134
24. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label2.4%130
25. Intentional self-injury2.3%129
26. Hypotensionlow blood pressure2.3%127
27. Painpain, site not specified2.3%127
28. Dyspnoeashortness of breath2.3%125
29. Foetal exposure during pregnancythe unborn baby was exposed to the medicine2.2%123
30. Electrocardiogram QT prolongeda QT prolongation on the ECG2.1%114

Top 30 of 1,011 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 8 drugs in the phenothiazine 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 15,718 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. 59.2% 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 5,503 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Other products listed in reports where Promethazine 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 phenothiazine 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 Promethazine as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (25,784) 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.