alpha-1 Adrenergic Agonist side effects compared: 3 drugs, 8,889 FDA adverse event reports
Members
| Drug | FAERS reports | Serious | Death outcome | Boxed warning | Top labeled signals | Unlabeled (unassessed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phenylephrine | 4,303 | 88% | 588 | – | – | – |
| Phenylephrine | 3,733 | 94% | 1,739 | – | – | – |
| Phenylephrine | 853 | 83% | 201 | – | – | – |
Class-wide signals (flagged in at least 2 of 3 members)
| Reaction | Members flagged | Median PRR | Reports (sum) | In label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Folliculitis | 3/3 | 57.3 | 918 | 0/3 members' labels |
| Helicobacter infection | 3/3 | 48.4 | 915 | 0/3 members' labels |
| Hand deformity | 3/3 | 33.9 | 890 | 0/3 members' labels |
| Pemphigus | 2/3 | 256.4 | 1,058 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Hypercholesterolaemia | 2/3 | 205.8 | 646 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Wound infection | 2/3 | 192.9 | 691 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Pericarditis | 2/3 | 170.4 | 963 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Bursitis | 2/3 | 161.6 | 706 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Synovitis | 2/3 | 153.1 | 938 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Joint range of motion decreased | 2/3 | 136.9 | 613 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Glossodynia | 2/3 | 125.4 | 961 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Irritable bowel syndrome | 2/3 | 108.6 | 789 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Wound | 2/3 | 98.2 | 946 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Liver injury | 2/3 | 85.5 | 698 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Fibromyalgia | 2/3 | 80.9 | 664 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Type 2 diabetes mellitus | 2/3 | 76.7 | 894 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Pulmonary fibrosis | 2/3 | 59.9 | 365 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Gait inability | 2/3 | 58.1 | 654 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Arthropathy | 2/3 | 49.0 | 913 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Cardiogenic shock | 2/3 | 26.7 | 83 | 0/2 members' labels |
| Hepatotoxicity | 2/3 | 15.8 | 67 | 0/2 members' labels |
Member-specific signals (flagged in exactly one drug)
No strong single-member signals (n ≥ 50) in this class.
Common questions
Which alpha-1 adrenergic agonist has the most FDA adverse event reports?
Phenylephrine has the most FAERS co-reports in this class (4,303), followed by Phenylephrine (3,733). Report volume tracks how widely and how long a drug has been used, and how much attention it has had, far more than its risk.
Which side effects are shared across alpha-1 adrenergic agonist drugs?
Reaction terms flagged in at least half of the 3 members include folliculitis, helicobacter infection, hand deformity, pemphigus, hypercholesterolaemia. A term shared across a class usually reflects the shared mechanism (or the shared patient population) rather than one product.
Does a FAERS signal mean the drug causes the reaction?
No. These are disproportionality signals from voluntary reports with no denominator. Each is screened against the FDA label (known vs unlabeled) on the drug pages; causality needs temporality, dose-response, plausibility and trial or cohort evidence.
Sources: openFDA FAERS pair statistics (OpenPV build 2026-09-14), FDA labels via openFDA, seriousness and death counts from openFDA count queries. Generated 2026-10-08. Not medical advice.