Gabapentin vs Carbamazepine: side effects in FDA adverse event reports
At a glance
| Gabapentin | Carbamazepine | |
|---|---|---|
| Drug class | – | Mood Stabilizer |
| Brand names | – | – |
| FAERS reports | 362,501 | 66,609 |
| Serious | 63% | 86% |
| Death outcome | 34,219 | 5,605 |
| Boxed warning | No | Yes SERIOUS DERMATOLOGIC REACTIONS AND HLA-B*1502 ALLELE SERIOUS AND SOMETIMES FATAL DERMATOLOGIC REACTIONS, INCLUDING TOXIC EPIDERMAL NECROLYSIS (TEN) AND STEVENS- |
Signals both drugs share
| Reaction | Gabapentin | Carbamazepine | Label screen (A / B) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trigeminal neuralgia | 412 · PRR 6.5 | 531 · PRR 47.8 | Likely indication confounding / Likely indication confounding |
Labeled signals distinctive to Gabapentin
- Infusion site pain — n=1,220, PRR 6.0 Labeled (related wording)
- Infusion site erythema — n=754, PRR 5.7 Labeled (related wording)
- Infusion site swelling — n=569, PRR 5.8 Labeled (related wording)
- Suspected suicide — n=441, PRR 5.8 Labeled (related wording)
- Infusion site infection — n=232, PRR 6.5 Labeled (related wording)
- Accidental death — n=229, PRR 8.0 Labeled (related wording)
Labeled signals distinctive to Carbamazepine
- Drug rash with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms — n=446, PRR 49.3 Labeled (related wording)
- Asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease overlap syndrome — n=101, PRR 75.7 Labeled (related wording)
Common questions
Which has more reported side effects, Gabapentin or Carbamazepine?
Gabapentin has 362,501 FAERS reports and Carbamazepine 66,609. More reports does not mean more dangerous: volume follows how widely and how long a drug has been used, prescription vs over-the-counter status, and publicity. The seriousness share (63% vs 86%) is a better like-for-like signal of the kind of problems reported.
Which side effects do Gabapentin and Carbamazepine share?
Both drugs carry disproportionality signals for trigeminal neuralgia. Shared signals often reflect a shared drug class or the condition both are used for.
Is Gabapentin or Carbamazepine safer?
FAERS cannot answer that: it has no denominator and no comparator. Use this page to see which risks are already on each label and which signals are unlabeled, then check the prescribing information and your clinician for your situation.
Sources: openFDA FAERS pair statistics (OpenPV build 2026-09-14), FDA labels via openFDA, openFDA count queries for seriousness and deaths. Pair chosen because it is a commonly searched comparison. Generated 2026-10-08.