Reports received by FDA, by month

March 2012: adverse event reports received by FDA

55,316 drug reports (FAERS) and 36,604 device reports (MAUDE).

Read first · FDA's statement on these data

Adverse event reports submitted to FDA do not undergo extensive validation or verification. Therefore, a causal relationship cannot be established between product and reactions listed in a report. While a suspected relationship may exist, it is not medically validated and should not be the sole source of information for clinical decision making or other assumptions about the safety or efficacy of a product. Additionally, it is important to remember that adverse event reports represent a small percentage of total usage numbers of a product. Common products may have a higher number of adverse events due to the higher total number of people using the product. openFDA, FDA

FDA adds: "There is no certainty that the reported event (adverse event or medication error) was actually due to the product. FDA does not require that a causal relationship between a product and event be proven, and reports do not always contain enough detail to properly evaluate an event." The information in these reports "cannot be used to estimate the incidence of these events."

Do not rely on openFDA to make decisions regarding medical care. While we make every effort to ensure that data is accurate, you should assume all results are unvalidated.

Not medical advice. This site counts what was reported to FDA. Questions about a medicine or device belong with a pharmacist or clinician.

55,316
drug reports received: 41,538 a year earlier; 49,411
monthly average, preceding 12 months: 12% against the average; 36,604
device reports received: 34,130 a year earlier

FDA received 55,316 drug adverse event reports in March 2012, against 41,538 in the same month a year earlier and a monthly average of 49,411 over the preceding 12 months. The MAUDE device database received 36,604 reports that month (34,130 a year earlier).

The drugs listed most often as suspect products were Revlimid (5,648), Tysabri (1,807) and Gilenya (1,392), and the reactions recorded most often were pain (2,311), death (2,282) and fatigue (2,182).

Relative to their own average over the preceding 12 months, the drugs whose report count rose most were Fanapt (31.8× its average), Tekturna (14.5× its average) and Zomig (12.2× its average). A jump in one month usually reflects a batch of reports from a manufacturer, a publicised event or a new product, not a change in what happens to patients.

Drug reports by month, three years to March 2012

Drugs listed most often as suspect products

Drug	Reports	Share of the month
Revlimid	5,648	10.2%
Tysabri	1,807	3.3%
Gilenya	1,392	2.5%
Gleevec	1,081	2%
Mirena	865	1.6%
Chantix	825	1.5%
Remicade	822	1.5%
Yaz	800	1.4%
Pradaxa	781	1.4%
Aleve	766	1.4%
Nicorette	735	1.3%
Humira	712	1.3%
Yasmin	663	1.2%
Erbitux	656	1.2%
Lyrica	624	1.1%

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."

Largest rises against their own average

Drug	Reports this month	Times its 12-month average
Fanapt	334	31.8×
Tekturna	185	14.5×
Zomig	222	12.2×
Revlimid	5,648	11.3×
Emsam	118	9.9×
Nicorette	735	8.6×
Erbitux	656	7.5×
Temazepam	160	6.9×

Drugs with at least 50 reports in the month and an average of at least 10 a month over the preceding year. A rise usually reflects a batch of manufacturer reports, a publicised event or a new product.

Reactions recorded most often

MedDRA term	Reports	Share of the month
Painpain, site not specified	2,311	4.2%
Deaththe patient died; cause not stated by this term	2,282	4.1%
Fatiguetiredness	2,182	3.9%
Nauseafeeling sick	2,164	3.9%
Drug ineffectivethe medicine did not work as expected	2,095	3.8%
Dyspnoeashortness of breath	1,992	3.6%
Headachehead pain	1,701	3.1%
Diarrhoealoose or frequent stools	1,651	3%
Pneumonialung infection	1,621	2.9%
Dizzinesslight-headedness or unsteadiness	1,528	2.8%
Vomitingbeing sick	1,467	2.7%
Malaisegeneral feeling of being unwell	1,383	2.5%
Anxietyanxiety	1,334	2.4%
Astheniaweakness or lack of energy	1,255	2.3%
Falla fall	1,233	2.2%

Devices named most often

Brand	Reports	Share of device reports
HomeChoice Automated PD Set with Cassette	1,040	2.8%
Onetouchping Glucosemgmtsystem	625	1.7%
Homechoice	548	1.5%
Paradigm Real-Time Insulin Infusion Pump	521	1.4%
Flogard	449	1.2%
Ot Ping Meter	436	1.2%
Curlin Administration Set	407	1.1%
Ot Ultralink Meter	394	1.1%
Homechoice Pro	362	1%
Riata Active Fixation	337	0.9%

Questions about March 2012

How many adverse event reports did FDA receive in March 2012?

55,316 drug reports are in the openFDA FAERS release of 28 Sep 2026, and 36,604 device reports in the MAUDE release of 28 Sep 2026. The same month a year earlier has 41,538 drug reports.

Which drugs were listed most often?

Revlimid (5,648), Tysabri (1,807), Gilenya (1,392), Gleevec (1,081) and Mirena (865).

Which reactions were recorded most often?

pain (2,311), death (2,282), fatigue (2,182), nausea (2,164) and drug ineffective (2,095).

Can the count for a month still change?

Yes. FDA releases FAERS data quarterly, so the newest months are incomplete and grow in later releases. Older months change little.

Does a busy month mean something happened that month?

Not by itself. The date is when FDA received the report, not when the event occurred, and volume follows manufacturer batches, product launches and publicity. 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."

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. 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.