Reported Reactions

Drugs › Opioid agonist

Brand name · Remifentanil hydrochloride

Ultiva: adverse event reports filed with FDA

613 reports list it as a suspect or interacting product, 2004–2026. Class: Opioid agonist.

613
reports as suspect product
0% of all reports · about 27 a year
20
reports, 12 months to June 2026
11 in the 12 months before
94.3%
marked serious by the reporter
91.7% across the class
11.1%
record death among outcomes, as reported
68 reports · not verified by FDA

613 adverse event reports received by FDA list the brand name Ultiva (remifentanil hydrochloride) as a suspect or interacting product, from January 2004 to April 2026. A further 548 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, 20 reports listed it, up 82% from 11 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 27 reports a year and 0% of the 20,646,523 reports in the database, and 0.1% of the reports for the opioid agonist 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 anaphylactic shock (19.6%), hypotension (7.3%) and bronchospasm (5.5%). A report can list several reactions, so shares add to more than 100%; 278 different terms appear across these reports. Anaphylactic shock is recorded in 19.6% of these reports, with no counterpart in the median opioid agonist drug (0%).

94.3% of the reports are marked serious by the reporter (91.7% across the class); 11.1% record death among the outcomes and 36.9% record hospitalisation, as reported. 40.6% of the reports came from physicians, and the largest patient age group is 45 to 64 (31.5%). 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: 2Aug 2021: 1Sep 2021: 0Oct 2021: 3Nov 2021: 1Dec 2021: 02022Jan 2022: 0Feb 2022: 1Mar 2022: 1Apr 2022: 4May 2022: 1Jun 2022: 1Jul 2022: 11Aug 2022: 0Sep 2022: 4Oct 2022: 2Nov 2022: 1Dec 2022: 22023Jan 2023: 1Feb 2023: 3Mar 2023: 3Apr 2023: 1May 2023: 0Jun 2023: 1Jul 2023: 0Aug 2023: 0Sep 2023: 1Oct 2023: 2Nov 2023: 3Dec 2023: 12024Jan 2024: 0Feb 2024: 5Mar 2024: 2Apr 2024: 7May 2024: 0Jun 2024: 1Jul 2024: 3Aug 2024: 1Sep 2024: 0Oct 2024: 0Nov 2024: 0Dec 2024: 02025Jan 2025: 1Feb 2025: 0Mar 2025: 2Apr 2025: 2May 2025: 1Jun 2025: 1Jul 2025: 2Aug 2025: 0Sep 2025: 0Oct 2025: 1Nov 2025: 4Dec 2025: 32026Jan 2026: 0Feb 2026: 6Mar 2026: 1Apr 2026: 3May 2026: 0Jun 2026: 0

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

033652004: 1220042005: 172006: 62007: 1820072008: 202009: 342010: 6520102011: 492012: 452013: 4620132014: 472015: 272016: 2920162017: 182018: 422019: 1220192020: 252021: 112022: 2820222023: 162024: 192025: 1720252026: 10

2026 covers reports received through June 2026 only.

Reactions recorded in the reports

share of Ultiva reports recording the termmedian drug in opioid agonist

  1. Anaphylactic shocka severe allergic reaction with collapse19.6%120
  2. Hypotensionlow blood pressure7.3%45
  3. Bronchospasmtightening of the airways5.5%34
  4. Tachycardiafast heart rate5.2%32
  5. Anaphylactic reactiona severe, sudden allergic reaction5.1%31
  6. Rashskin rash5.1%31
  7. Blood pressure decreaseda low blood pressure reading4.9%30
  8. Cardiac arrestthe heart stopped4.7%29
  9. Circulatory collapsecollapse of the circulation3.4%21
  10. Erythemaskin redness2.9%18
  11. Toxic epidermal necrolysisa severe skin reaction with peeling2.9%18
  12. Drug interactionan interaction between medicines2.8%17
  13. Haematuriablood in the urine2.8%17
  14. Bradycardiaslow heart rate2.6%16
  15. Coma2.4%15
  16. Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected2.4%15
  17. Cardio-respiratory arrestthe heart and breathing stopped2.3%14
  18. Hypoxialow oxygen2.3%14
  19. Oliguria2.3%14
  20. Painpain, site not specified1.6%10
  21. Respiratory depressionslow or shallow breathing1.6%10
  22. Drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptomsDRESS, a severe reaction with rash, fever and organ involvement1.5%9
  23. Tongue oedemaa swollen tongue1.5%9
  24. Dyspnoeashortness of breath1.3%8

Top 30 of 278 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

Death11.1%68
Life-threatening36.4%223
Hospitalisation (initial or prolonged)36.9%226
Disability2.6%16
Congenital anomaly0%0
Other serious40.9%251
Not serious5.7%35

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

Patient age

Under 22.4%15
2 to 113.3%20
12 to 173.1%19
18 to 4419.9%122
45 to 6431.5%193
65 to 7414.5%89
75 and over11.1%68
Age not given14.2%87

Patient sex

Female49.6%304
Male43.2%265
Not given7.2%44

Who reported

Physician40.6%249
Pharmacist9.8%60
Other health professional33.3%204
Lawyer0%0
Consumer or non-health professional11.6%71
Not given4.7%29

Age and sex as stated in the report; the reporter's qualification is the primary source recorded by FDA. 7.3% of reports give the United States as the country of the event or reporter.

Reason for use recorded

Indication as recorded (MedDRA)ReportsShare
General anaesthesia10617.3%
Anaesthesia10216.6%
Induction of anaesthesia6110%
Analgesic therapy223.6%
Pain132.1%
Maintenance of anaesthesia71.1%

The indication field is filled in by the reporter and is often blank; shares are of all 613 reports.

In context

MeasureUltivaOpioid agonistAll reports
Reports as suspect product613965,05120,646,523
Share of that pool—0.1%0%
Reports, latest 12 months20—1,332,454
Marked serious94.3%91.7%57.4%
Death recorded among outcomes, per 1,000 reports11135791
Hospitalisation recorded, per 1,000 reports369126213
Consumer-filed share11.6%32.5%45.8%
Top term, share of reportsAnaphylactic shock 19.6%median 0%0.1%

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 opioid agonist class

DrugName typeReportsLatest 12 monthsMarked serious
OxyContinbrand146,26358494.6%
Oxycodone hydrochloridegeneric113,2202,59894.7%
Dilaudidbrand64,19117395.7%
Morphine sulfategeneric60,0921,57779.8%
Hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophengeneric59,05217096.2%
Percocetbrand57,79319895.4%
Fentanylgeneric53,6563,29286.2%
MS Continbrand52,1285598.7%
Oxycodonegeneric35,6712,85391.8%
Hysingla ERbrand30,703692.1%
Morphinegeneric28,4211,42190.5%
Nucyntabrand27,57512790.4%
Tramadol hydrochloridegeneric27,4471,95292.4%
Oxycodone and acetaminophengeneric24,91911294%
Norcobrand24,6614293.1%

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 Ultiva reports

How many adverse event reports has FDA received for Ultiva?

613 reports list Ultiva as a suspect or interacting product in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, covering reports received through June 2026. 20 of them arrived in the latest 12 months. Another 548 list it only as a concomitant medication.

What reactions are recorded in Ultiva reports?

anaphylactic shock (19.6%), hypotension (7.3%), bronchospasm (5.5%), tachycardia (5.2%) and anaphylactic reaction (5.1%). 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 Ultiva was responsible.

How serious are the reports?

94.3% are marked serious by the reporter. Among the outcomes recorded, 11.1% of reports include death and 36.9% 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?

physician (40.6%), other health professional (33.3%) and consumer or non-health professional (11.6%). Most reports reach FDA through the manufacturer, which must forward reports it receives.

Are reports for Ultiva rising?

20 reports in the 12 months to June 2026, up 82% from 11 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 Ultiva 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 Ultiva?

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 Ultiva as a suspect or interacting product; reports listing it only as a concomitant medication (548) 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.