Hydrocortisone vs Fludrocortisone: side effects in FDA adverse event reports
At a glance
| Hydrocortisone | Fludrocortisone | |
|---|---|---|
| Drug class | Corticosteroid | – |
| Brand names | – | Fludrocortisone Acetate |
| FAERS reports | 88,710 | 2,184 |
| Serious | 82% | 72% |
| Death outcome | 11,614 | 263 |
| Boxed warning | No | No |
Signals both drugs share
No strong shared signal after removing coding and lab terms.
Labeled signals distinctive to Hydrocortisone
- Duodenal ulcer perforation — n=2,466, PRR 119.8 Labeled (related wording)
- Steroid withdrawal syndrome — n=250, PRR 76.9 Labeled (related wording)
- Secondary immunodeficiency — n=223, PRR 54.2 Labeled (related wording)
- Adrenal suppression — n=148, PRR 50.2 Labeled (related wording)
- Topical steroid withdrawal reaction — n=146, PRR 145.5 Labeled (related wording)
Labeled signals distinctive to Fludrocortisone
- Seizure — n=46, PRR 3.8 Labeled (related wording)
- Hypoglycaemia — n=19, PRR 3.8 Labeled (related wording)
- Heart rate irregular — n=15, PRR 6.3 Labeled (related wording)
- Fungal infection — n=15, PRR 4.3 Labeled adverse reaction
- Hip fracture — n=14, PRR 4.2 Labeled (related wording)
Common questions
Which has more reported side effects, Hydrocortisone or Fludrocortisone?
Hydrocortisone has 88,710 FAERS reports and Fludrocortisone 2,184. 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 (82% vs 72%) is a better like-for-like signal of the kind of problems reported.
Which side effects do Hydrocortisone and Fludrocortisone share?
They share no strong flagged signal after artifacts and lab terms are removed.
Is Hydrocortisone or Fludrocortisone 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.