Drug Safety Information for CYTOTEC (Misoprostol)

FDA Safety-related Labeling Changes for CYTOTEC (MISOPROSTOL) Rx Drug: Safety Information Link

Adverse Drug Reactions for CYTOTEC* (Misoprostol)

These charts and graphs are based on reports received through the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) program (see below).

Top 20 Adverse Effects Associated with CYTOTEC
(reported in FDA Medwatch/FAERS Reports)

  Side Effect # of FDA Reports
1Haemorrhage1416
2Abortion incomplete1359
3Anaemia544
4Pregnancy516
5Pain373
6Pyrexia327
7Muscle spasms*316
8Dizziness272
9Menorrhagia265
10Abdominal pain257
11Vomiting248
12Nausea248
13Off label use180
14Syncope167
15Endometritis132
16Diarrhoea122
17Headache111
18Asthenia108
19Dyspnoea108
20Drug ineffective*105

* This side effect also appears in "Top 10 Side Effects of CYTOTEC " in the drug's Review Summary based on AskaPatient reviews.

Top 10 Reasons for Taking CYTOTEC
(associated with FDA Medwatch/FAERS Reports)

Reason # of FDA Reports
1Abortion induced1078
2Product used for unknown indication848
3Labour induction543
4Prophylaxis against gastrointestinal ulcer404
5Abortion342
6Prophylaxis330
7Gastric ulcer239
8Induced labour218
9Gastritis141
10Rheumatoid arthritis118

*Also a top-10 reason in AskaPatient Review Summary.


Types of Adverse Events for CYTOTEC

Total Reports Filed with FDA: 20800


Number of FDA Adverse Event Reports by Patient Age for CYTOTEC

Total Reports Filed with FDA: 20800*


* Reports for drugs with the same active ingredients have been aggregated in this analysis: Misoprostol (Apo-misoprostol, Cytotec, Misoprostol)

Charts are based on 20800 reports filed with the FDA between 2004 and June 2015.

Adverse Event Reports are submitted to the FDA by pharmaceutical companies (mandatory reporting is required by manufacturers, distributors, or importers), health care providers such as doctors (voluntary reporting), and by patients themselves (voluntary reporting). More Information on FDA MedWatch (FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program)Voluntary reporting takes place under the FDA's MedWatch program, where health care professionals and consumers submit reports to FDA when they find a problem with a drug, medical device, biologic, or other FDA-regulated product. An adverse event is any undesirable experience or extreme side effect associated with the use of a medical product. Adverse events include: death, life threatening event, hospitalization, disability or permanent damage, congenital anomaly or birth defect, medical product use requiring a surgical or other intervention, or other serious medical situation believed to be caused by the drug.

Click to go back to search results and CYTOTEC Reviews and Review Summary .

Historical Analytics of FDA Adverse Event Reports Provided by Druginformer.com. FDA Drug Safety Information, including safety-related labeling updates, required post-approval safety studies, risk evaluation management strategies (REMS), alerts, and recalls are compiled by AskaPatient.com from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.