FDA Adverse Events Reports (FAERS) Summary for SINEMET

These tables and charts are based on 21,742 total reports for SINEMET (CARBIDOPA\LEVODOPA) received by the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) from 2004 through April 28, 2026.

This FAERS total includes 21,452 pharmaceutical company-submitted and non-U.S. FAERS reports and 290 U.S. consumer or healthcare provider-submitted MedWatch reports. For a separate summary of the 290 U.S. reports filed via the FDA MedWatch voluntary reporting system, view our FDA MedWatch SINEMET summary report. (See notes section below for explanation of FDA’s mandatory and voluntary reporting system.)

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

 Side Effect# of FDA Reports
1FALL2144
2HALLUCINATION2110
3DRUG INEFFECTIVE1836
4DYSKINESIA1388
5DEATH1354
6PARKINSON^S DISEASE1331
7CONFUSIONAL STATE1328
8TREMOR1233
9DIZZINESS1132
10GAIT DISTURBANCE1115
11FATIGUE1081
12NAUSEA1071
13DROWSINESS1061
14LACK OF STRENGTH AND ENERGY (ASTHENIA)899
15URINARY TRACT INFECTION817
16ANXIETY760
17CONSTIPATION737
18WEIGHT DECREASED714
19MALAISE710
20SHORTNESS OF BREATH698

Latest Known Outcomes for Reactions Reported for SINEMET

Latest Known Outcome for Reported ReactionsNumber of Cases
1Unknown Outcome9927
2Patient recovered6353
3Patient has not recovered/symtoms have not resolved5723
4Patient is recovering/symptoms resolving2687
5Patient died2097
6Patient has recovered but has consequent health issues160
Search all MedWatch and FAERS by keyword:

SINEMET Total Reports

 Male    Female    Unknown    Total  
 11377    9141    1224    21,742  

Top Countries Reporting

 Country  Number of Reports
United States  10735
United Kingdom  795
France  737
Italy  643
Canada  396
Netherlands  392
Spain  366
Ireland  277
EU  237
10 Portugal  140

Outcomes for Reports

Serious: 14691
Not Serious: 7051
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      
Parkinson's disease
Product used for unknown indication
Parkinsonism
Extrapyramidal disorder

Top Companies Reporting

   ORGANON

Safety-Related FDA Updates

SINEMET (LEVODOPA; CARBIDOPA) Rx Drug:
May cause Vitamin B6 deficiency, leading to seizures.
FDA Safety Communication

SINEMET (LEVODOPA; CARBIDOPA) Rx Drug:
Carbidoba/Levodopa may cause Vitamin B6 deficiency, leading to seizures. Safety-related Labeling Changes


Have experience (good or bad) with SINEMET? Rate SINEMET 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

This report, created by AskaPatient.com, is derived from the cases for SINEMET 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 April 28, 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.