Reported Reactions

Drugs › Aminoglycoside antibacterial

Generic name

Tobramycin: adverse event reports filed with FDA

4,827 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2004–2026. Class: Aminoglycoside antibacterial. Also reported as Tobramycin 300mg, Tobramycin Injection Usp, Tobramycin Ophthalmic Solution Usp.

4,827
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 215 a year
388
reports, 12 months to June 2026
481 in the 12 months before
83.4%
marked serious by the reporter
80.3% across the class
11.7%
record death among outcomes, as reported
564 reports · not verified by FDA

Between February 2004 and June 2026, 4,827 adverse event reports received by FDA list tobramycin, a generic name as a suspect or interacting product. Reports that mention it only as a concomitant medication (7,291) are left out of every figure here.

In the 12 months to June 2026, 388 reports listed it, down 19% from 481 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 215 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 12.8% 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 drug ineffective (8.2%), acute kidney injury (8.1%) and off label use (5.8%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 795 different terms appear across these reports. Drug ineffective is recorded in 8.2% of these reports, about the same share as in the median aminoglycoside antibacterial drug (7.1%).

83.4% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (80.3% across the class); 11.7% record death among the outcomes and 44.1% record hospitalisation, as reported. 45.3% of the reports came from other health professionals, and the largest patient age group is 18 to 44 (19.4%). 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

03366Jul 2021: 25Aug 2021: 40Sep 2021: 20Oct 2021: 31Nov 2021: 60Dec 2021: 472022Jan 2022: 42Feb 2022: 44Mar 2022: 61Apr 2022: 22May 2022: 32Jun 2022: 23Jul 2022: 27Aug 2022: 38Sep 2022: 29Oct 2022: 39Nov 2022: 38Dec 2022: 302023Jan 2023: 46Feb 2023: 42Mar 2023: 23Apr 2023: 23May 2023: 45Jun 2023: 29Jul 2023: 34Aug 2023: 43Sep 2023: 29Oct 2023: 21Nov 2023: 49Dec 2023: 422024Jan 2024: 37Feb 2024: 54Mar 2024: 29Apr 2024: 32May 2024: 43Jun 2024: 51Jul 2024: 59Aug 2024: 34Sep 2024: 38Oct 2024: 51Nov 2024: 44Dec 2024: 482025Jan 2025: 30Feb 2025: 36Mar 2025: 35Apr 2025: 27May 2025: 54Jun 2025: 25Jul 2025: 16Aug 2025: 34Sep 2025: 30Oct 2025: 35Nov 2025: 27Dec 2025: 392026Jan 2026: 27Feb 2026: 31Mar 2026: 34Apr 2026: 66May 2026: 24Jun 2026: 25

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

02605202004: 1920042005: 252006: 142007: 6120072008: 342009: 372010: 2020102011: 652012: 692013: 4520132014: 1272015: 1852016: 17420162017: 2272018: 4052019: 49920192020: 4312021: 4242022: 42520222023: 4262024: 5202025: 38820252026: 207

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Tobramycin reports recording the termmedian drug in aminoglycoside antibacterial

  1. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected8.2%395
  2. Acute kidney injurysudden loss of kidney function8.1%392
  3. Off label useused for a purpose or in a way not on the label5.8%279
  4. Condition aggravatedthe condition being treated got worse5.3%254
  5. Dyspnoeashortness of breath5.2%251
  6. Pneumonialung infection5.2%250
  7. Deaththe patient died; cause not stated by this term5.1%244
  8. Hospitalisationadmission to hospital3.6%175
  9. Coughcough3.2%153
  10. Eye paineye pain2.7%130
  11. Pyrexiafever2.6%125
  12. Infectionan infection, type not specified2.4%116
  13. Product use in unapproved indicationused for a purpose not on the label2.1%101
  14. Drug hypersensitivityan allergic-type reaction to a medicine2.1%99
  15. Nauseafeeling sick2%98
  16. Toxicity to various agentspoisoning or toxic effect of one or more substances2%96
  17. Asthmaasthma2%95
  18. Renal failurekidney failure1.9%94
  19. Visual acuity reducedreduced sharpness of vision1.8%88
  20. Wheezingwheezing1.8%87
  21. Productive cougha cough with phlegm1.7%83
  22. Malaisegeneral feeling of being unwell1.6%79
  23. Drug level increaseda raised blood level of the medicine1.6%78

Top 30 of 795 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

Death11.7%564
Life-threatening5.1%245
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)44.1%2,131
Disability2.2%108
Congenital anomaly0%2
Other serious44.5%2,150
Not serious16.6%802

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 21.8%87
2 to 114.7%226
12 to 175.1%244
18 to 4419.4%937
45 to 6415.2%733
65 to 7412%577
75 and over9.3%448
Age not given32.6%1,575

Patient sex

Female49.2%2,377
Male41.5%2,003
Not given9.3%447

Who reported

Physician16.9%815
Pharmacist10%485
Other health professional45.3%2,189
Lawyer0%2
Consumer or non-health professional24.1%1,162
Not given3.6%174

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 63.1% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
Cystic fibrosis64313.3%
Pseudomonas infection3346.9%
Bronchiectasis2916%
Pneumonia pseudomonal781.6%
Antibiotic therapy751.6%
Pneumonia601.2%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 4,827 reports.

Drugs most often listed in the same reports

Drug (any role in the report)ReportsShare of Tobramycin reports
Vancomycin64513.4%
Pulmozyme4379.1%
Meropenem4298.9%
Ciprofloxacin3727.7%
Ceftazidime3226.7%
Prednisone3116.4%
Azithromycin2415%
Albuterol2244.6%
Sodium chloride2094.3%
Linezolid1984.1%

Other products listed in reports where Tobramycin 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

MeasureTobramycinAminoglycoside antibacterialAll reports
Reports as suspect product4,82737,84020,646,523
Share of that pool—12.8%0%
Reports, latest 12 months388—1,332,454
Marked serious83.4%80.3%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports11717391
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports441415213
Consumer-filed share24.1%31.9%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsDrug ineffective 8.2%median 7.1%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 aminoglycoside antibacterial class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
Arikaycebrand6,47171468.7%
Gentamicingeneric5,59128594.7%
Amikacingeneric5,38053191.9%
Tobibrand3,7021282.7%
TOBI Podhalerbrand2,6494072.7%
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 Tobramycin reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Tobramycin?

4,827 reports list Tobramycin as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 388 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 7,291 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Tobramycin reports?

drug ineffective (8.2%), acute kidney injury (8.1%), off label use (5.8%), condition aggravated (5.3%) and dyspnoea (5.2%). 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 Tobramycin was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

83.4% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 11.7% of reports include death and 44.1% 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 (45.3%), consumer or non-health professional (24.1%) and physician (16.9%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Tobramycin rising?

388 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, down 19% from 481 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 Tobramycin 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 Tobramycin?

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 Tobramycin as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (7,291) 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.