Reported Reactions

Drugs › Aminoglycoside antibacterial

Brand name · Tobramycin

TOBI Podhaler: adverse event reports filed with FDA

2,649 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2011–2026. Class: Aminoglycoside antibacterial.

2,649
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 177 a year
40
reports, 12 months to June 2026
65 in the 12 months before
72.7%
marked serious by the reporter
80.3% across the class
10.8%
record death among outcomes, as reported
286 reports · not verified by FDA

Between July 2011 and June 2026, 2,649 adverse event reports received by FDA list the brand name TOBI Podhaler (tobramycin) as a suspect or interacting product. Reports that mention it only as a concomitant medication (535) are left out of every figure here.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 40 reports listed it, down 38% from 65 in 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 177 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 7% of the reports for the aminoglycoside antibacterial 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 cough (15%), cystic fibrosis (12.7%) and condition aggravated (11.4%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 364 different terms appear across these reports. Cough is recorded in 15% of these reports, a larger share than in the median aminoglycoside antibacterial drug (2.3%).

72.7% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (80.3% across the class); 10.8% record death among the outcomes and 46.7% record hospitalisation, as reported. 60.2% of the reports came from consumers, and the largest patient age group is 18 to 44 (27.2%). 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

0611Jul 2021: 9Aug 2021: 11Sep 2021: 6Oct 2021: 4Nov 2021: 3Dec 2021: 82022Jan 2022: 6Feb 2022: 6Mar 2022: 11Apr 2022: 4May 2022: 5Jun 2022: 7Jul 2022: 1Aug 2022: 5Sep 2022: 2Oct 2022: 8Nov 2022: 10Dec 2022: 82023Jan 2023: 7Feb 2023: 8Mar 2023: 4Apr 2023: 1May 2023: 2Jun 2023: 5Jul 2023: 9Aug 2023: 6Sep 2023: 3Oct 2023: 6Nov 2023: 4Dec 2023: 32024Jan 2024: 4Feb 2024: 5Mar 2024: 6Apr 2024: 6May 2024: 1Jun 2024: 4Jul 2024: 4Aug 2024: 2Sep 2024: 8Oct 2024: 5Nov 2024: 4Dec 2024: 102025Jan 2025: 8Feb 2025: 7Mar 2025: 5Apr 2025: 4May 2025: 4Jun 2025: 4Jul 2025: 2Aug 2025: 1Sep 2025: 7Oct 2025: 4Nov 2025: 2Dec 2025: 62026Jan 2026: 1Feb 2026: 4Mar 2026: 2Apr 2026: 4May 2026: 2Jun 2026: 5

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

03036052011: 120112012: 262013: 12520132014: 3962015: 60520152016: 3542017: 18120172018: 1512019: 22220192020: 2212021: 10520212022: 732023: 5820232024: 592025: 5420252026: 18

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of TOBI Podhaler reports recording the termmedian drug in aminoglycoside antibacterial

  1. Coughcough15%397
  2. Condition aggravatedthe condition being treated got worse11.4%301
  3. Dyspnoeashortness of breath9.9%263
  4. Deaththe patient died; cause not stated by this term8.8%234
  5. Hospitalisationadmission to hospital7.3%194
  6. Malaisegeneral feeling of being unwell6.8%179
  7. Pneumonialung infection5.4%142
  8. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label5.3%140
  9. Pulmonary function test decreased4.7%125
  10. Chest discomfortchest discomfort4.5%118
  11. Haemoptysiscoughing up blood4%105
  12. Dysphoniaa hoarse voice3.6%95
  13. Pyrexiafever2.9%78
  14. Weight decreasedweight loss2.8%75
  15. Wheezingwheezing2.6%70
  16. Productive cougha cough with phlegm2.4%63
  17. Lung disordera lung problem, type not specified2.3%60
  18. Lower respiratory tract infectiona chest infection2.2%58
  19. Infectionan infection, type not specified2%54
  20. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected1.9%51
  21. Aphonia1.9%50
  22. Oropharyngeal painsore throat1.9%50
  23. Bronchospasmtightening of the airways1.8%47
  24. Product use issuea problem in how the product was used1.8%47
  25. Asthmaasthma1.7%46
  26. Fatiguetiredness1.7%46

Top 30 of 364 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 15 drugs in the aminoglycoside antibacterial 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

Death10.8%286
Life-threatening0.6%16
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)46.7%1,236
Disability0.7%18
Congenital anomaly0.1%2
Other serious25.5%675
Not serious27.3%724

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 37,840 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 20.1%2
2 to 113%79
12 to 177.2%191
18 to 4427.2%721
45 to 646%158
65 to 742.5%67
75 and over1.8%49
Age not given52.2%1,382

Patient sex

Female51.3%1,360
Male44.2%1,170
Not given4.5%119

Who reported

Physician12.7%336
Pharmacist10%266
Other health professional12.5%330
Lawyer0%0
Consumer or non-health professional60.2%1,596
Not given4.6%121

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 76% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Cystic fibrosis1,44754.6%
Pseudomonas infection1415.3%
Bronchiectasis742.8%
Cystic fibrosis lung672.5%
Lung disorder431.6%
Infective pulmonary exacerbation of cystic fibrosis361.4%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 2,649 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of TOBI Podhaler reports
Pulmozyme65124.6%
Albuterol32512.3%
Creon32412.2%
Sodium chloride1355.1%
Advair Hfa1244.7%
Azithromycin Anhydrous1224.6%
Azithromycin1174.4%
Zenpep1084.1%
Prednisone823.1%
Ergocalciferol793%

Other products listed in reports where TOBI Podhaler 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

MeasureTOBI PodhalerAminoglycoside antibacterialAll reports
Reports as suspect product2,64937,84020,646,523
Share of that pool—7%0%
Reports, latest 12 months40—1,332,454
Marked serious72.7%80.3%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports10817391
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports467415213
Consumer-filed share60.2%31.9%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsCough 15%median 2.3%1.3%

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 aminoglycoside antibacterial class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Arikaycebrand6,47171468.7%
Gentamicingeneric5,59128594.7%
Amikacingeneric5,38053191.9%
Tobramycingeneric4,82738883.4%
Tobibrand3,7021282.7%
Bethkisbrand1,9316257.5%
Gentamicin sulfategeneric1,6386783.5%
Neomycinbrand1,11025692.7%
TobraDexbrand9618873.9%
Amikacin sulfategeneric8284993.5%
Neomycin sulfategeneric7705759.4%
Streptomycingeneric692889.6%
Kitabis Pakbrand6576873.2%
Bacitracingeneric633622.6%

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 TOBI Podhaler reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for TOBI Podhaler?

2,649 reports list TOBI Podhaler as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 40 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 535 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in TOBI Podhaler reports?

cough (15%), cystic fibrosis (12.7%), condition aggravated (11.4%), dyspnoea (9.9%) and death (8.8%). 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 TOBI Podhaler was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

72.7% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 10.8% of reports include death and 46.7% 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?

consumer or non-health professional (60.2%), physician (12.7%) and other health professional (12.5%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for TOBI Podhaler rising?

40 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, down 38% from 65 in 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 TOBI Podhaler 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 TOBI Podhaler?

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 TOBI Podhaler as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (535) 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.