FDA Adverse Events Reports (FAERS) Summary for PEPCID AC

These tables and charts are based on 6,471 total reports for PEPCID AC (FAMOTIDINE) received by the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) from 2004 through July 30, 2026.

This FAERS total includes 6,255 pharmaceutical company-submitted and non-U.S. FAERS reports and 216 U.S. consumer or healthcare provider-submitted MedWatch reports. Adverse events listed on this page represent serious and sometimes rare adverse events reported to pharmaceutical companies, and often do not represent typical side effects for the medication. Find common side effects in the most recent official drug label.

For a separate summary of the 216 U.S. reports filed via the FDA MedWatch voluntary reporting system, view our FDA MedWatch PEPCID AC summary report. (See notes section below for explanation of FDA’s mandatory and voluntary reporting system.)

Top 20 Adverse Effects Associated with PEPCID AC (reported in FAERS Database)

 Side Effect# of FDA Reports
1CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE1651
2ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY865
3KIDNEY FAILURE726
4DRUG INEFFECTIVE498
5KIDNEY FAILURE493
6GASTROOESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE344
7NAUSEA342
8OFF LABEL USE299
9FATIGUE296
10KIIDNEY INJURY291
11DIARRHEA288
12HEADACHE257
13PRODUCT USE IN UNAPPROVED INDICATION255
14DIZZINESS248
15SHORTNESS OF BREATH193
16VOMITING183
17PAIN179
18DEATH165
19INDIGESTION151
20ANXIETY149

Latest Known Outcomes for Reactions Reported for PEPCID AC

Latest Known Outcome for Reported ReactionsNumber of Cases
1Unknown Outcome3900
2Patient has not recovered/symtoms have not resolved2523
3Patient recovered883
4Patient is recovering/symptoms resolving368
5Patient died306
6Patient has recovered but has consequent health issues15

Yearly FDA Adverse Event Reports (Table)

YearNumber of Reports
200467
200565
200659
200750
200852
200965
201061
201190
2012110
201380
201475
2015360
2016329
2017291
2018779
20191068
2020534
2021549
2022425
2023405
2024399
2025382
2026176

Reports by Patient Age Group (Table)

Age GroupNumber of Reports
0-1086
11-2075
21-30118
31-40270
41-50400
51-60678
61-70773
71-80608
81-90239
91+31

Based on 3278 reports that included a patient age.

PEPCID AC Total Reports

 Male    Female    Unknown    Total  
 1786    3611    1074    6,471  

Top Countries Reporting

 Country  Number of Reports
1 United States  5841
2 Canada  22
3 Puerto Rico  5
4 Ireland  3
5 Norway  3
6 Tunisia  2
7 Australia  1
8 Dominican Republic  1
9 United Kingdom  1

Outcomes for Reports

Serious: 3583
Not Serious: 2884
Note: A serious outcome means the adverse event resulted in death, a life threatening condition, hospitalization, disability, congenital anomaly, or other serious condition.

Top Indications      
Product used for unknown indication
INDIGESTION
Gastrooesophageal reflux disease
Malaise
Gastritis

Top Companies Reporting

   Kenvue

Safety-Related FDA Updates

FDA Approval Date: 2003-09-23

PEPCID AC (FAMOTIDINE) Over-the-counter Drug:
Safety-related Labeling Changes


Have experience (good or bad) with PEPCID AC? Rate PEPCID AC at Ask a Patient.

For serious adverse events, report them to the FDA by contacting the drug manufacturer or report directly through the MedWatch voluntary reporting form.

Notes

Events listed on this page represent serious and often rare adverse events reported to pharmaceutical companies, and do not represent typical side effects for the medication. Find common side effects on the most recent official drug label This report, created by AskaPatient.com, is derived from the cases for PEPCID AC reported to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) FDA Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and obtained from Open FDA. Data was last updated with reports received through July 30, 2026.

This summary includes ALL reports where the drug is a "primary OR secondary OR suspected interacting" drug. Typically, reports are filed for the most serious type or "event" and do not represent incidental or minor side effects. The majority of these reports are mandatory reports submitted by pharmaceutical companies, who receive complaints from consumers. The reactions, side effects, or "adverse events," represent up to the 20 most frequently occuring events in the database for a drug related to the event. This report also features counts of latest known outcomes associated with reported side effects, but does not provide the specific outcomes for specific adverse events.

Adverse Event Reports are submitted to the FAERS database by pharmaceutical companies (mandatory reporting is required by manufacturers, distributors, or importers). Health care providers such as doctors (voluntary reporting), and patients themselves (voluntary reporting) report to the FDA directly through the MedWatch program. Those MedWatch reports are coded and included in the FAERS database. This report mainly consists of the mandatory reports, because the MedWatch reports are a small percentage (3 - 5%) of total reports. Link to the MedWatch summary report at the top of the page for a summary of the directly reported (voluntary) adverse events for this drug.The number of reports included here might differ somewhat from the number of reports in the downloadable quarterly FAERS reports and in the online FAERS dashboard, due to lags in reporting, drug name differences, duplicates, and other factors. Open FDA states that it only includes the most recent version of a case report. It also adds the disclaimer: "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."

FDA uses the "MedDRA" classification system to describe reported adverse reactions. MedDRA is a standardized medical terminology that facilitates sharing of regulatory information internationally. In some cases, "patient friendly" terms for the layman designated by MedDRA have been substituted for medical jargon. Please contact us with questions or comments about this report.