Nitroimidazole Antimicrobial side effects compared: 4 drugs, 111,569 FDA adverse event reports

Which nitroimidazole antimicrobial has the most FDA adverse event reports?

Metronidazole has the most FAERS co-reports in this class (63,491), followed by Metronidazole Topical (47,359). 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 nitroimidazole antimicrobial drugs?

Reaction terms flagged in at least half of the 4 members include vaginal flatulence, appendicolith, congenital hiatus hernia, female genital tract fistula, toxic encephalopathy. 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.