Drug · FAERS side-effect profile with label screen
Bacitracin Zinc side effects: what 1,588 FDA adverse event reports show
Drug class
Not stated in label
Brand names
Sheffield Bacitracin Zinc
openFDA label
Who reports
1,588 reports · 53% serious · 104 with death outcome · 65% female
openFDA FAERS counts, all years, deduplication not applied
Used for
First aid to help prevent infection in minor: cuts scrapes burns
FDA label, Indications and Usage
Boxed warning
None in the current label
How to read this page. FAERS is a spontaneous-reporting system: counts are not incidence rates and a signal is not proof of causation.
Each reaction below is run through an automated screen — is the term in the FDA label (known), in the indications (the disease being treated), an administrative/coding term, or none of these (unlabeled)?
That screen is mechanical text matching, not a causality assessment. The 30 hand-written Bradford Hill assessments are on the causality assessment page. Not medical advice.
Causality screen of the 37 strongest signals
Reporting / coding artifact 7No label text to screen 30
What the badges mean
- Reporting / coding artifact An administrative, monitoring or exposure term (product issue, off-label use, 'test normal', overdose...). Not a biological reaction; a high PRR here reflects how reports are coded.
- Not in label — unassessed Not found in the label text, not an artifact pattern. This is a genuine candidate for a formal causality assessment (Bradford Hill / WHO-UMC); it has NOT had one here.
- No label text to screen No validated FDA label was retrievable for this product, so the screen could not run. Disproportionality only.
Strongest disproportionality signals
Flagged terms (PRR ≥ 2, χ² ≥ 4, n ≥ 10), ranked by PRR; infinite PRRs (no comparator reports) excluded. The EBGM column is a second, shrinkage-based estimate (MGPS) with its 5th percentile EB05 and the BCPNN IC025; a pair flagged by PRR alone is marked PRR-only and should be read as fragile. The strata column recomputes the PRR on serious reports only and flags pairs whose reports are unusually skewed by sex or come mostly from consumers rather than clinicians. 14 further terms are in the interactive explorer. Reaction links open the term's cross-drug page.
Show:
| Reaction | Reports | PRR 95% CI · ROR · χ²/p | EBGM EB05 · IC025 | Label screen | Serious-only & strata | Trial cross-check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral candidiasis (oral thrush) | 12 | 12.2 6.9–21.4ROR 12.3 · χ² 112 / p 2e-26 | 10.5 EB05 5.7 · IC025 +2.1 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 9.3 | no trial data cached |
| Tooth abscess | 6 | 7.8 3.5–17.2ROR 7.8 · χ² 29 / p 4e-8 | 5.3 EB05 2.6 · IC025 +0.9 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.6 | no trial data cached |
| Respiratory tract congestion | 9 | 7.5 3.9–14.3ROR 7.5 · χ² 44 / p 1e-11 | 5.7 EB05 3.2 · IC025 +1.3 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 10.5 | no trial data cached |
| Pharyngitis | 7 | 7.4 3.5–15.5ROR 7.4 · χ² 33 / p 5e-9 | 5.3 EB05 2.7 · IC025 +1.1 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 7.5 | no trial data cached |
| Anosmia (loss of smell) | 8 | 7.3 3.6–14.5ROR 7.3 · χ² 37 / p 5e-10 | 5.4 EB05 2.9 · IC025 +1.2 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious n=3 | no trial data cached |
| Drug exposure during pregnancy | 19 | 7.3 4.7–11.4ROR 7.4 · χ² 97 / p 4e-23 | 6.3 EB05 4.2 · IC025 +1.9 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 8.4 | no trial data cached |
| Drug administration error | 17 | 7.2 4.5–11.6ROR 7.3 · χ² 85 / p 2e-20 | 6.2 EB05 4.0 · IC025 +1.8 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 13.6 | no trial data cached |
| Anorexia | 7 | 7.1 3.4–14.8ROR 7.1 · χ² 31 / p 2e-8 | 5.1 EB05 2.6 · IC025 +1.0 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.8 | no trial data cached |
| Pharmaceutical product complaint | 14 | 7.0 4.2–11.8ROR 7.1 · χ² 66 / p 2e-16 | 5.9 EB05 3.7 · IC025 +1.6 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.3 | no trial data cached |
| Incorrect drug administration duration | 15 | 6.9 4.2–11.5ROR 7.0 · χ² 71 / p 2e-17 | 5.9 EB05 3.7 · IC025 +1.7 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 10.0 | no trial data cached |
| Unintended pregnancy | 5 | 6.3 2.6–15.1ROR 6.3 · χ² 17 / p 2e-5 | 4.3 EB05 2.0 · IC025 +0.5 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 6.3 | no trial data cached |
| Menstruation irregular | 12 | 6.0 3.4–10.5ROR 6.0 · χ² 45 / p 1e-11 | 5.0 EB05 3.0 · IC025 +1.3 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | – | no trial data cached |
| Tachypnoea | 6 | 5.8 2.6–13.0ROR 5.9 · χ² 20 / p 5e-6 | 4.2 EB05 2.1 · IC025 +0.7 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 6.6 | no trial data cached |
| Intentional drug misuse | 9 | 5.6 2.9–10.8ROR 5.6 · χ² 30 / p 3e-8 | 4.5 EB05 2.5 · IC025 +1.0 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 6.1 | no trial data cached |
| Acne | 32 | 5.5 3.9–7.8ROR 5.6 · χ² 115 / p 4e-27 | 5.2 EB05 3.8 · IC025 +1.8 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 0.9 · 97% consumer | no trial data cached |
| Stevens-johnson syndrome (severe blistering skin reaction) | 9 | 5.3 2.8–10.2ROR 5.4 · χ² 28 / p 8e-8 | 4.3 EB05 2.4 · IC025 +1.0 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.9 | no trial data cached |
| Multi-organ failure | 7 | 5.3 2.5–11.0ROR 5.3 · χ² 20 / p 4e-6 | 4.1 EB05 2.2 · IC025 +0.7 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.8 | no trial data cached |
| Lung infection | 6 | 5.0 2.3–11.2ROR 5.0 · χ² 16 / p 4e-5 | 3.8 EB05 1.9 · IC025 +0.5 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 3.9 | no trial data cached |
| Thinking abnormal | 7 | 4.9 2.4–10.3ROR 5.0 · χ² 18 / p 1e-5 | 3.9 EB05 2.1 · IC025 +0.7 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 6.0 | no trial data cached |
| Drug toxicity | 5 | 4.8 2.0–11.5ROR 4.8 · χ² 11 / p 4e-4 | 3.5 EB05 1.7 · IC025 +0.3 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.4 | no trial data cached |
| Sneezing | 8 | 4.7 2.4–9.4ROR 4.7 · χ² 20 / p 4e-6 | 3.8 EB05 2.1 · IC025 +0.7 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 4.8 | no trial data cached |
| Crying | 13 | 4.7 2.7–8.1ROR 4.7 · χ² 34 / p 2e-9 | 4.1 EB05 2.6 · IC025 +1.1 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 6.7 | no trial data cached |
| Heart rate irregular | 8 | 4.6 2.3–9.3ROR 4.7 · χ² 19 / p 5e-6 | 3.8 EB05 2.1 · IC025 +0.7 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 2.5 | no trial data cached |
| Local swelling | 6 | 4.5 2.0–10.0ROR 4.5 · χ² 13 / p 2e-4 | 3.5 EB05 1.8 · IC025 +0.4 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 9.1 | no trial data cached |
| Pain of skin | 9 | 4.4 2.3–8.4ROR 4.4 · χ² 20 / p 3e-6 | 3.7 EB05 2.1 · IC025 +0.8 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | – | no trial data cached |
| Skin irritation | 14 | 4.0 2.4–6.8ROR 4.1 · χ² 29 / p 4e-8 | 3.6 EB05 2.3 · IC025 +1.0 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | – | no trial data cached |
| Rash generalised | 8 | 4.0 2.0–8.0ROR 4.0 · χ² 15 / p 5e-5 | 3.4 EB05 1.9 · IC025 +0.6 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.6 | no trial data cached |
| Psychomotor hyperactivity | 5 | 4.0 1.7–9.5ROR 4.0 · χ² 8 / p 0.002 | 3.1 EB05 1.5 · IC025 +0.1 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 4.3 | no trial data cached |
| Metrorrhagia | 5 | 3.8 1.6–9.2ROR 3.8 · χ² 8 / p 0.003 | 3.0 EB05 1.5 · IC025 +0.0 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | – | no trial data cached |
| Product quality issue | 38 | 3.7 2.7–5.1ROR 3.8 · χ² 73 / p 5e-18 | 3.6 EB05 2.7 · IC025 +1.3 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 8.5 · 92% consumer | no trial data cached |
| Gastric disorder | 9 | 3.4 1.8–6.5ROR 3.4 · χ² 13 / p 2e-4 | 3.0 EB05 1.7 · IC025 +0.5 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 4.4 | no trial data cached |
| Abnormal behaviour | 10 | 3.3 1.8–6.1ROR 3.3 · χ² 14 / p 9e-5 | 3.0 EB05 1.8 · IC025 +0.5 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 4.5 | no trial data cached |
| Abasia | 6 | 3.2 1.4–7.0ROR 3.2 · χ² 7 / p 0.004 | 2.7 EB05 1.4 · IC025 +0.0 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 2.8 | no trial data cached |
| Abnormal dreams | 6 | 2.9 1.3–6.3ROR 2.9 · χ² 5 / p 0.010 | 2.5 EB05 1.3 · IC025 -0.1 PRR-only: not supported by EBGM or IC | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 3.7 | no trial data cached |
| Wrong technique in drug usage process | 7 | 2.5 1.2–5.3ROR 2.5 · χ² 5 / p 0.013 | 2.3 EB05 1.2 · IC025 -0.1 PRR-only: not supported by EBGM or IC | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 2.6 | no trial data cached |
| Skin burning sensation | 13 | 2.4 1.4–4.1ROR 2.4 · χ² 9 / p 0.001 | 2.3 EB05 1.4 · IC025 +0.3 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 3.1 | no trial data cached |
| Inappropriate schedule of drug administration | 12 | 2.2 1.2–3.9ROR 2.2 · χ² 7 / p 0.005 | 2.1 EB05 1.3 · IC025 +0.1 | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 1.4 | no trial data cached |
Trial evidence (ClinicalTrials.gov)
Trial cross-check not yet run for this drug (ClinicalTrials.gov pull covers the 800 most-reported drugs first).
Most frequently reported reactions
By raw co-report count, regardless of disproportionality. Common terms here are often the illness itself or generic outcomes.
| Reaction | Reports | PRR 95% CI · ROR · χ²/p | EBGM EB05 · IC025 | Label screen | Serious-only & strata | Trial cross-check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product quality issue | 38 | 3.7 2.7–5.1ROR 3.8 · χ² 73 / p 5e-18 | 3.6 EB05 2.7 · IC025 +1.3 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 8.5 · 92% consumer | no trial data cached |
| Acne | 32 | 5.5 3.9–7.8ROR 5.6 · χ² 115 / p 4e-27 | 5.2 EB05 3.8 · IC025 +1.8 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 0.9 · 97% consumer | no trial data cached |
| Drug dose omission | 24 | 1.9 1.3–2.8ROR 1.9 · χ² 9 / p 0.001 | 1.9 EB05 1.3 · IC025 +0.2 | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 3.7 | no trial data cached |
| Drug exposure during pregnancy | 19 | 7.3 4.7–11.4ROR 7.4 · χ² 97 / p 4e-23 | 6.3 EB05 4.2 · IC025 +1.9 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 8.4 | no trial data cached |
| Drug administration error | 17 | 7.2 4.5–11.6ROR 7.3 · χ² 85 / p 2e-20 | 6.2 EB05 4.0 · IC025 +1.8 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 13.6 | no trial data cached |
| Incorrect drug administration duration | 15 | 6.9 4.2–11.5ROR 7.0 · χ² 71 / p 2e-17 | 5.9 EB05 3.7 · IC025 +1.7 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 10.0 | no trial data cached |
| Skin irritation | 14 | 4.0 2.4–6.8ROR 4.1 · χ² 29 / p 4e-8 | 3.6 EB05 2.3 · IC025 +1.0 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | – | no trial data cached |
| Pharmaceutical product complaint | 14 | 7.0 4.2–11.8ROR 7.1 · χ² 66 / p 2e-16 | 5.9 EB05 3.7 · IC025 +1.6 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.3 | no trial data cached |
| Skin burning sensation | 13 | 2.4 1.4–4.1ROR 2.4 · χ² 9 / p 0.001 | 2.3 EB05 1.4 · IC025 +0.3 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 3.1 | no trial data cached |
| Crying | 13 | 4.7 2.7–8.1ROR 4.7 · χ² 34 / p 2e-9 | 4.1 EB05 2.6 · IC025 +1.1 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 6.7 | no trial data cached |
| Inappropriate schedule of drug administration | 12 | 2.2 1.2–3.9ROR 2.2 · χ² 7 / p 0.005 | 2.1 EB05 1.3 · IC025 +0.1 | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 1.4 | no trial data cached |
| Menstruation irregular | 12 | 6.0 3.4–10.5ROR 6.0 · χ² 45 / p 1e-11 | 5.0 EB05 3.0 · IC025 +1.3 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | – | no trial data cached |
| Oral candidiasis (oral thrush) | 12 | 12.2 6.9–21.4ROR 12.3 · χ² 112 / p 2e-26 | 10.5 EB05 5.7 · IC025 +2.1 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 9.3 | no trial data cached |
| Abnormal behaviour | 10 | 3.3 1.8–6.1ROR 3.3 · χ² 14 / p 9e-5 | 3.0 EB05 1.8 · IC025 +0.5 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 4.5 | no trial data cached |
| Gastric disorder | 9 | 3.4 1.8–6.5ROR 3.4 · χ² 13 / p 2e-4 | 3.0 EB05 1.7 · IC025 +0.5 | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 4.4 | no trial data cached |
Unlabeled candidate signals
Every screened signal with n ≥ 20 was either labeled, an indication term, or an artifact pattern — no unlabeled candidate stood out in the top signals.
Want to assess one of these properly? The runbook describes the Bradford Hill / trial-evidence workflow used on the assessment page, and handoff_top1000_signals.csv lists the strongest unassessed pairs across all drugs.
Common questions
What are the most reported side effects of Bacitracin Zinc?
In FDA FAERS, the most frequently co-reported reaction terms for Bacitracin Zinc are acne, skin irritation, pharmaceutical product complaint, skin burning sensation, crying, menstruation irregular. These are report counts, not rates: FAERS has no denominator, reporting is voluntary and uneven, and a term can be reported because of the illness being treated rather than the drug.
Does Bacitracin Zinc have an FDA boxed warning?
No. The FDA label retrieved for Bacitracin Zinc has no boxed warning; see the label's Warnings and Precautions for the recognised risks.
Do FAERS signals prove that Bacitracin Zinc causes these side effects?
No. A disproportionality signal (PRR, ROR) means a reaction is reported more often with this drug than with others in the database. That can reflect a real effect, but also the disease being treated, stimulated reporting after news or litigation, co-medications, or how reports are coded. Causality needs temporality, dose-response, biological plausibility, consistency across data sources and, ideally, trial or cohort evidence. This page screens each term against the FDA label and ClinicalTrials.gov results; it does not establish causation.
Sources & methods
- FDA label via openFDA (set ID 0f446f48-f55d-4de7-b447-285d7a329c84, effective 20231120; matched on
openfda.generic_name.exact:"BACITRACIN ZINC") - Bayesian shrinkage measures computed offline over all 1,317,300 cached pairs: BCPNN information component (IC, with Norén closed-form IC025) and MGPS empirical-Bayes geometric mean (EBGM, EB05) with a two-component gamma prior fitted by maximum marginal likelihood (α₁=0.57, β₁=0.02, α₂=1.42, β₂=0.70, w=0.17); unstratified
- FAERS pair statistics from the OpenPV build of 2026-09-14 (openFDA
count=aggregation, fieldpatient.drug.openfda.generic_name.exact, 51 reaction terms, min 3 co-reports); PRR/ROR with 95% CI, chi-square with Yates correction - Serious-only and stratified counts (serious:1, patient.patientsex, primarysource.qualification) from openFDA count queries; serious-only PRR uses the drug serious report total and the term global serious total (N_serious=11,882,979); strata shown only when n ≥ 20
- Seriousness and sex counts from openFDA
count=serious,patient.patientsex,seriousnessdeath
Page generated 2026-10-08. Label and PubChem text are retrieved automatically and may lag the current label; always check the current prescribing information. OpenPV is a beta research tool of the Open Source Medicine Foundation.