Ibuprofen and Diphenhydramine side effects: what 23,133 FDA adverse event reports show
Drug class
Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug
Label matched
Ibuprofen (Ibuprofen)
Who reports
23,133 reports · 49% serious · 801 with death outcome · 72% female
Used for
Carefully consider the potential benefits and risks of ibuprofen tablets and other treatment options before deciding to use ibuprofen. Use the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration consistent with individual patient treatment goals (see WARNINGS ). Ibuprofen tablets are indicated for relief of the signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.
What it is
DESCRIPTION Ibuprofen tablets USP contain the active ingredient ibuprofen, which is (±) - 2 - ( p - isobutylphenyl) propionic acid. Ibuprofen is a white to off-white, crystalline powder with a.
Boxed warning
Cardiovascular Thrombotic Events Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) cause an increased risk of serious cardiovascular thrombotic events, including myocardial infarction and stroke, which can be fatal. This risk may occur early in treatment and may increase with duration of use [see Warnings and Precautions ].
Causality screen of the 40 strongest signals
What the badges mean
- Labeled (related wording) The label describes this effect under different wording (e.g. 'neutropenia' for 'neutrophil count decreased'). Treated as known.
- Likely indication confounding The term appears in the label's indications: reports probably describe the disease being treated (or its progression), not a drug effect. Classic confounding by indication.
- 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.
- Lab value / disease marker A laboratory result, investigation or disease-activity marker (antibody positive, CRP abnormal, swollen joint count) not described in the label. These usually mirror the monitored disease or testing protocol rather than a drug effect; not screened further.
- 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.
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, for the 300 most-reported drugs, adjusted for age band), and flags pairs whose reports are unusually skewed by sex or come mostly from consumers. Each row also shows the PRR against the other drugs of the same FDA class, which removes most confounding by the condition being treated, and a calibrated p-value: on validation, known non-causes average an ROR of about 2, so significance is judged against that empirical null (✓ = p < 0.05 after calibration). 1,135 further terms are in the interactive explorer. Reaction links open the term's cross-drug page.
| Reaction | Reports | PRR 95% CI · ROR · χ²/p | EBGM EB05 · IC025 | Label screen | Serious-only & strata | Trial cross-check |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red blood cell sedimentation rate | 91 | 434.7 338.5–558.2ROR 436.4 · calibrated p 5e-13 ✓ | 275.8 EB05 231.4 · IC025 +6.5 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=91 · 100% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Deafness transitory | 145 | 184.8 154.6–220.8ROR 185.9 · calibrated p 1e-9 ✓ | 150.3 EB05 130.8 · IC025 +6.4 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=145 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Granuloma skin | 96 | 118.8 96.0–146.9ROR 119.3 · calibrated p 4e-8 ✓ | 102.8 EB05 86.7 · IC025 +5.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=96 · 100% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Enthesopathy | 160 | 102.3 86.9–120.4ROR 103.0 · calibrated p 1e-7 ✓ | 90.9 EB05 79.7 · IC025 +5.9 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=160 | no trial data cached |
| Blood parathyroid hormone decreased | 110 | 72.1 59.4–87.6ROR 72.5 · calibrated p 1e-6 ✓ | 66.1 EB05 56.4 · IC025 +5.4 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=110 · 94% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Tenosynovitis | 166 | 57.9 49.5–67.6ROR 58.3 · calibrated p 6e-6 ✓ | 54.1 EB05 47.5 · IC025 +5.3 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=166 | no trial data cached |
| Alanine aminotransferase abnormal | 115 | 52.5 43.5–63.4ROR 52.8 · calibrated p 1e-5 ✓ | 49.3 EB05 42.2 · IC025 +5.0 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=114 · ♀ 45% (drug 72%) · 90% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Panniculitis | 114 | 44.9 37.2–54.2ROR 45.2 · calibrated p 3e-5 ✓ | 42.5 EB05 36.4 · IC025 +4.9 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=114 · 93% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Shoulder arthroplasty | 116 | 41.4 34.4–49.8ROR 41.6 · calibrated p 5e-5 ✓ | 39.4 EB05 33.7 · IC025 +4.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=116 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Rheumatoid nodule | 118 | 40.1 33.3–48.2ROR 40.3 · calibrated p 6e-5 ✓ | 38.2 EB05 32.7 · IC025 +4.7 3/3 methods agree | Likely indication confounding shares a disease stem with the indications wording | serious n=118 · 92% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Product name confusion | 46 | 39.7 29.5–53.3ROR 39.7 · calibrated p 8e-5 ✓ | 37.5 EB05 29.2 · IC025 +4.3 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | 100% consumer | no trial data cached |
| Cholecystitis chronic | 284 | 39.6 35.1–44.5ROR 40.0 · calibrated p 5e-5 ✓ | 37.8 EB05 34.3 · IC025 +5.0 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 44.2 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Gallbladder cholesterolosis | 19 | 38.9 24.6–61.6ROR 39.0 · calibrated p 1e-4 ✓ | 36.1 EB05 24.4 · IC025 +3.5 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=19 | no trial data cached |
| Biliary dyskinesia | 65 | 35.7 27.8–45.7ROR 35.8 · calibrated p 1e-4 ✓ | 34.0 EB05 27.6 · IC025 +4.4 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=65 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Rheumatoid lung | 33 | 32.1 22.7–45.4ROR 32.2 · calibrated p 3e-4 ✓ | 30.5 EB05 22.8 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree | Labeled (related wording) related wording | serious n=33 · 100% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Drug effect prolonged | 16 | 26.7 16.2–43.8ROR 26.7 · calibrated p 1e-3 ✓ | 25.2 EB05 16.4 · IC025 +3.0 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | – | no trial data cached |
| Gallbladder non-functioning | 16 | 25.9 15.8–42.6ROR 25.9 · calibrated p 0.001 ✓ | 24.5 EB05 15.9 · IC025 +3.0 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=16 | no trial data cached |
| Product difficult to swallow | 28 | 25.3 17.4–36.8ROR 25.3 · calibrated p 9e-4 ✓ | 24.3 EB05 17.6 · IC025 +3.5 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | ♀ 100% (drug 72%) · 100% consumer | no trial data cached |
| Thrombophlebitis superficial | 81 | 24.5 19.6–30.5ROR 24.5 · calibrated p 9e-4 ✓ | 23.7 EB05 19.7 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=79 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Tongue disorder | 177 | 22.5 19.4–26.1ROR 22.7 · calibrated p 0.001 ✓ | 22.0 EB05 19.4 · IC025 +4.1 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=171 | no trial data cached |
| C-reactive protein abnormal | 153 | 22.1 18.9–26.0ROR 22.3 · calibrated p 0.001 ✓ | 21.6 EB05 18.9 · IC025 +4.1 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=153 · 90% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Gallbladder injury | 45 | 21.5 16.0–28.9ROR 21.5 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 20.8 EB05 16.2 · IC025 +3.6 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=45 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Superior sagittal sinus thrombosis | 18 | 20.6 12.9–32.9ROR 20.6 · calibrated p 0.003 ✓ | 19.7 EB05 13.0 · IC025 +2.9 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=18 | no trial data cached |
| Functional gastrointestinal disorder | 77 | 20.6 16.4–25.8ROR 20.6 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 20.0 EB05 16.5 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=76 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Skin necrosis | 111 | 19.7 16.3–23.8ROR 19.8 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 19.3 EB05 16.4 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree | Labeled (related wording) related wording | serious n=111 · 94% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Pharyngitis | 255 | 18.9 16.7–21.4ROR 19.1 · calibrated p 0.003 ✓ | 18.5 EB05 16.7 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 27.9 · ♀ 95% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Pelvic venous thrombosis | 28 | 17.9 12.3–26.1ROR 17.9 · calibrated p 0.004 ✓ | 17.3 EB05 12.5 · IC025 +3.1 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=28 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Drug tolerance decreased | 53 | 17.5 13.3–22.9ROR 17.5 · calibrated p 0.004 ✓ | 17.0 EB05 13.5 · IC025 +3.4 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=52 · 100% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Foreign body in respiratory tract | 24 | 16.7 11.2–25.0ROR 16.7 · calibrated p 0.006 ✓ | 16.1 EB05 11.1 · IC025 +3.0 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | 100% consumer | no trial data cached |
| Foot operation | 89 | 16.7 13.5–20.6ROR 16.7 · calibrated p 0.005 ✓ | 16.3 EB05 13.7 · IC025 +3.6 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=89 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Uterine perforation | 154 | 16.6 14.2–19.5ROR 16.7 · calibrated p 0.005 ✓ | 16.3 EB05 14.2 · IC025 +3.7 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 19.0 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Left atrial dilatation | 23 | 16.5 10.9–24.9ROR 16.5 · calibrated p 0.007 ✓ | 15.8 EB05 10.8 · IC025 +2.9 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=23 | no trial data cached |
| Gastrointestinal pain | 192 | 16.1 14.0–18.6ROR 16.3 · calibrated p 0.005 ✓ | 15.9 EB05 14.1 · IC025 +3.7 3/3 methods agree | Labeled (related wording) related wording | serious PRR 27.7 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Intracranial venous sinus thrombosis | 19 | 16.1 10.3–25.4ROR 16.1 · calibrated p 0.008 ✓ | 15.3 EB05 9.9 · IC025 +2.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=19 | no trial data cached |
| Pulmonary infarction | 41 | 15.8 11.6–21.6ROR 15.9 · calibrated p 0.007 ✓ | 15.4 EB05 11.7 · IC025 +3.2 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=41 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
| Lumbar radiculopathy | 19 | 15.0 9.5–23.5ROR 15.0 · calibrated p 0.010 ✓ | 14.1 EB05 9.1 · IC025 +2.7 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=19 | no trial data cached |
| Hangover | 47 | 12.2 9.1–16.2ROR 12.2 · calibrated p 0.018 ✓ | 11.7 EB05 9.0 · IC025 +2.9 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | 100% consumer | no trial data cached |
| Granuloma | 45 | 11.9 8.9–16.0ROR 12.0 · calibrated p 0.019 ✓ | 11.5 EB05 8.8 · IC025 +2.9 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=44 · 100% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Tendonitis | 202 | 11.9 10.4–13.7ROR 12.0 · calibrated p 0.017 ✓ | 11.7 EB05 10.4 · IC025 +3.3 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 16.5 | no trial data cached |
| Fear of disease | 23 | 11.7 7.8–17.7ROR 11.7 · calibrated p 0.023 ✓ | 10.8 EB05 7.2 · IC025 +2.5 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=23 · ♀ 100% (drug 72%) | no trial data cached |
Trial evidence (ClinicalTrials.gov)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drug ineffective (drug did not work) | 2,813 | 1.9 1.9–2.0ROR 2.1 · calibrated p 0.981 | 1.9 EB05 1.9 · IC025 +0.9 | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 1.6 · 81% consumer | no trial data cached |
| Pain | 1,955 | 2.9 2.8–3.0ROR 3.1 · calibrated p 0.607 | 2.9 EB05 2.8 · IC025 +1.5 3/3 methods agree | Labeled — boxed warning exact term | serious PRR 4.0 | no trial data cached |
| Nausea | 1,797 | 2.1 2.0–2.2ROR 2.2 · calibrated p 0.974 | 2.1 EB05 2.0 · IC025 +1.0 | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious PRR 3.1 | no trial data cached |
| Headache | 1,731 | 2.5 2.4–2.6ROR 2.6 · calibrated p 0.759 | 2.5 EB05 2.4 · IC025 +1.2 3/3 methods agree | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious PRR 3.8 | no trial data cached |
| Fatigue (tiredness) | 1,417 | 1.7 1.6–1.7ROR 1.7 · calibrated p 0.767 | 1.7 EB05 1.6 · IC025 +0.6 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 2.1 | no trial data cached |
| Dizziness | 1,223 | 2.2 2.1–2.4ROR 2.3 · calibrated p 0.904 | 2.2 EB05 2.1 · IC025 +1.1 3/3 methods agree | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious PRR 2.9 | no trial data cached |
| Vomiting | 1,087 | 2.1 2.0–2.2ROR 2.2 · calibrated p 0.973 | 2.1 EB05 2.0 · IC025 +1.0 | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious PRR 2.7 | no trial data cached |
| Anxiety | 1,071 | 3.4 3.2–3.6ROR 3.5 · calibrated p 0.478 | 3.4 EB05 3.2 · IC025 +1.7 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 4.9 | no trial data cached |
| Drug hypersensitivity | 1,045 | 4.9 4.6–5.2ROR 5.1 · calibrated p 0.226 | 4.9 EB05 4.6 · IC025 +2.2 3/3 methods agree | Labeled (related wording) related wording | serious PRR 6.5 | no trial data cached |
| Diarrhoea (diarrhea) | 931 | 1.3 1.2–1.4ROR 1.3 · calibrated p 0.525 | 1.3 EB05 1.2 · IC025 +0.3 | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious PRR 1.7 | no trial data cached |
| Arthralgia (joint pain) | 888 | 1.9 1.8–2.1ROR 2.0 · calibrated p 0.934 | 1.9 EB05 1.8 · IC025 +0.8 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 2.7 | no trial data cached |
| Dyspnoea (shortness of breath) | 886 | 1.4 1.3–1.5ROR 1.4 · calibrated p 0.600 | 1.4 EB05 1.3 · IC025 +0.4 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 1.8 | no trial data cached |
| Insomnia (trouble sleeping) | 840 | 2.9 2.7–3.1ROR 2.9 · calibrated p 0.650 | 2.8 EB05 2.7 · IC025 +1.4 3/3 methods agree | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious PRR 3.1 | no trial data cached |
| Off label use (used outside approved label) | 822 | 0.9 0.8–0.9ROR 0.9 · calibrated p 0.215 | 0.9 EB05 0.8 · IC025 -0.3 PRR-only: not supported by EBGM or IC | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 1.1 | no trial data cached |
| Somnolence (drowsiness) | 758 | 3.4 3.2–3.7ROR 3.5 · calibrated p 0.483 | 3.4 EB05 3.2 · IC025 +1.7 3/3 methods agree | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious PRR 1.9 · 85% consumer | no trial data cached |
Unlabeled candidate signals
These flagged terms were not found in the FDA label text and do not match an artifact pattern. They are the pairs that would merit a structured assessment (temporality, dose-response, biological plausibility, consistency across databases, trial or cohort evidence). The screen has not done that; string-matching misses label wording, and a strong PRR can still be stimulated reporting, co-medication, or the disease itself.
- Deafness transitory — n=145, PRR 184.8
- Granuloma skin — n=96, PRR 118.8
- Enthesopathy — n=160, PRR 102.3
- Tenosynovitis — n=166, PRR 57.9
- Panniculitis — n=114, PRR 44.9
- Shoulder arthroplasty — n=116, PRR 41.4
- Cholecystitis chronic — n=284, PRR 39.6
- Biliary dyskinesia — n=65, PRR 35.7
- Thrombophlebitis superficial — n=81, PRR 24.5
- Tongue disorder — n=177, PRR 22.5
✓ A hand-written Bradford Hill causality assessment exists for this drug: Ibuprofen (NSAIDs) ↔ Gastrointestinal bleeding.
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 Ibuprofen and Diphenhydramine?
In FDA FAERS, the most frequently co-reported reaction terms for Ibuprofen and Diphenhydramine are pain, nausea, headache, fatigue, dizziness, vomiting. 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 Ibuprofen and Diphenhydramine have an FDA boxed warning?
Yes. The current FDA label carries a boxed warning: Cardiovascular Thrombotic Events Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) cause an increased risk of serious cardiovascular thrombotic events, including myocardial infarction and stroke, which can be fatal. This risk may occur early in treatment and may increase with duration of use [see Warnings and Precautions ].
Do FAERS signals prove that Ibuprofen and Diphenhydramine 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 00872852-680a-41b3-901b-b991b12a176d, effective 20250214; matched on
openfda.generic_name.exact:"IBUPROFEN") - 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, 1,175 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 2026-10-14. 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.