Lidocaine and Epinephrine side effects: what 48,700 FDA adverse event reports show
Drug class
Amide Local Anesthetic, Antiarrhythmic
Label matched
Lidocaine (Lidocaine)
Who reports
48,700 reports · 73% serious · 4,966 with death outcome · 63% female
Used for
Lidocaine Ointment 5% is indicated for production of anesthesia of accessible mucous membranes of the oropharynx. It is also useful as an anesthetic lubricant for intubation and for the temporary relief of pain associated with minor burns, including sunburn, abrasions of the skin, and insect bites.
What it is
DESCRIPTION Lidocaine Ointment 5% contains a local anesthetic agent and is administered topically. See INDICATIONS AND USAGE for specific uses. Lidocaine Ointment 5% contains lidocaine, which .
Boxed warning
None in the current label
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.
- 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). 1,153 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local anaesthetic systemic toxicity | 608 | 620.8 548.1–703.1ROR 628.6 · calibrated p 6e-15 ✓ | 250.4 EB05 234.2 · IC025 +7.6 3/3 methods agree | Labeled (related wording) related wording | serious n=605 · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Inspiratory capacity decreased | 84 | 189.3 146.4–244.8ROR 189.7 · calibrated p 1e-9 ✓ | 127.4 EB05 106.1 · IC025 +5.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=84 · ♀ 0% (drug 63%) · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Sleep disorder therapy | 55 | 180.7 131.8–247.7ROR 180.9 · calibrated p 2e-9 ✓ | 121.7 EB05 97.0 · IC025 +5.4 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=55 · ♀ 0% (drug 63%) · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Appendicolith | 81 | 116.7 91.3–149.3ROR 116.9 · calibrated p 5e-8 ✓ | 89.9 EB05 74.6 · IC025 +5.5 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=81 · ♀ 0% (drug 63%) · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Analgesic therapy | 55 | 94.0 70.2–125.8ROR 94.1 · calibrated p 3e-7 ✓ | 75.2 EB05 59.9 · IC025 +5.1 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=55 · ♀ 0% (drug 63%) · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Drug therapy | 55 | 89.3 66.8–119.4ROR 89.4 · calibrated p 4e-7 ✓ | 72.1 EB05 57.5 · IC025 +5.0 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=55 · ♀ 0% (drug 63%) · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Maternal exposure during delivery | 153 | 80.4 67.7–95.6ROR 80.7 · calibrated p 6e-7 ✓ | 67.2 EB05 58.7 · IC025 +5.5 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=142 · ♀ 100% (drug 63%) · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Toxic anterior segment syndrome | 168 | 78.5 66.6–92.5ROR 78.8 · calibrated p 8e-7 ✓ | 65.9 EB05 58.0 · IC025 +5.5 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=163 | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site discharge | 217 | 62.5 54.2–72.1ROR 62.8 · calibrated p 3e-6 ✓ | 54.4 EB05 48.5 · IC025 +5.4 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=186 · ♀ 84% (drug 63%) · 88% consumer | not reported in cached trials |
| Methaemoglobinaemia | 245 | 51.2 44.9–58.5ROR 51.5 · calibrated p 1e-5 ✓ | 45.7 EB05 41.1 · IC025 +5.2 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=234 · ♀ 41% (drug 63%) · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Lagophthalmos | 43 | 50.3 36.7–69.0ROR 50.4 · calibrated p 2e-5 ✓ | 44.3 EB05 34.2 · IC025 +4.4 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=41 · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site mass | 95 | 42.0 34.0–51.8ROR 42.1 · calibrated p 5e-5 ✓ | 38.0 EB05 32.0 · IC025 +4.7 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=77 · ♀ 85% (drug 63%) · 72% consumer | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site urticaria | 58 | 41.5 31.7–54.4ROR 41.6 · calibrated p 6e-5 ✓ | 37.5 EB05 30.1 · IC025 +4.4 3/3 methods agree | Labeled (related wording) related wording | serious n=47 · ♀ 100% (drug 63%) | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site bruising | 176 | 38.8 33.2–45.2ROR 38.9 · calibrated p 7e-5 ✓ | 35.5 EB05 31.3 · IC025 +4.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=138 | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site pruritus | 252 | 37.8 33.2–43.0ROR 38.0 · calibrated p 7e-5 ✓ | 34.7 EB05 31.3 · IC025 +4.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=180 · ♀ 88% (drug 63%) | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site haemorrhage | 238 | 34.1 29.9–38.9ROR 34.2 · calibrated p 1e-4 ✓ | 31.5 EB05 28.3 · IC025 +4.7 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=189 · 75% consumer | not reported in cached trials |
| Cauda equina syndrome | 49 | 29.1 21.8–38.8ROR 29.1 · calibrated p 4e-4 ✓ | 27.0 EB05 21.2 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=49 · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Procedural hypotension | 52 | 27.8 21.0–36.7ROR 27.8 · calibrated p 5e-4 ✓ | 25.9 EB05 20.5 · IC025 +3.9 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=51 · ♀ 100% (drug 63%) · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site rash | 82 | 27.5 22.0–34.4ROR 27.6 · calibrated p 5e-4 ✓ | 25.8 EB05 21.4 · IC025 +4.1 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=58 | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site swelling | 367 | 27.2 24.5–30.3ROR 27.4 · calibrated p 4e-4 ✓ | 25.6 EB05 23.5 · IC025 +4.5 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=251 | not reported in cached trials |
| Chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder | 62 | 26.3 20.3–33.9ROR 26.3 · calibrated p 6e-4 ✓ | 24.6 EB05 19.9 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=62 | not reported in cached trials |
| Foetal exposure during delivery | 39 | 25.9 18.8–35.8ROR 26.0 · calibrated p 8e-4 ✓ | 24.3 EB05 18.5 · IC025 +3.7 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=38 · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site discomfort | 58 | 25.8 19.8–33.7ROR 25.9 · calibrated p 7e-4 ✓ | 24.2 EB05 19.4 · IC025 +3.9 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=48 · ♀ 100% (drug 63%) · 100% consumer | not reported in cached trials |
| Anaesthetic complication neurological | 50 | 24.9 18.7–33.1ROR 24.9 · calibrated p 9e-4 ✓ | 23.4 EB05 18.5 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=48 · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site nodule | 49 | 24.7 18.5–33.0ROR 24.7 · calibrated p 9e-4 ✓ | 23.2 EB05 18.3 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | ♀ 100% (drug 63%) · 100% consumer | not reported in cached trials |
| Anaesthetic complication | 143 | 24.3 20.5–28.7ROR 24.4 · calibrated p 8e-4 ✓ | 23.0 EB05 20.0 · IC025 +4.1 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=125 · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site warmth | 58 | 21.8 16.7–28.3ROR 21.8 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 20.6 EB05 16.5 · IC025 +3.7 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=40 · ♀ 100% (drug 63%) · 100% consumer | not reported in cached trials |
| Kounis syndrome | 108 | 21.6 17.8–26.1ROR 21.6 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 20.5 EB05 17.4 · IC025 +3.9 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=108 · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site irritation | 57 | 20.6 15.8–26.9ROR 20.7 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 19.6 EB05 15.7 · IC025 +3.6 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=35 · ♀ 100% (drug 63%) · 100% consumer | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site discolouration | 39 | 20.4 14.8–28.1ROR 20.4 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 19.3 EB05 14.7 · IC025 +3.4 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | ♀ 100% (drug 63%) · 100% consumer | not reported in cached trials |
| Nephrogenic anaemia | 209 | 20.1 17.5–23.1ROR 20.2 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 19.2 EB05 17.1 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=209 | not reported in cached trials |
| Hyperparathyroidism secondary | 110 | 19.5 16.1–23.6ROR 19.6 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 18.6 EB05 15.9 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=110 | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site erythema | 357 | 19.3 17.4–21.5ROR 19.5 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 18.5 EB05 17.0 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=239 | not reported in cached trials |
| Device infusion issue | 105 | 19.2 15.8–23.4ROR 19.3 · calibrated p 0.003 ✓ | 18.4 EB05 15.6 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=87 · 100% consumer | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site pain | 538 | 18.9 17.3–20.6ROR 19.1 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 18.1 EB05 16.9 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree | Likely indication confounding term in indications | serious n=355 | not reported in cached trials |
| Incorrect drug administration rate | 176 | 18.7 16.0–21.7ROR 18.7 · calibrated p 0.003 ✓ | 17.9 EB05 15.8 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=150 | not reported in cached trials |
| Hyperphosphataemia | 87 | 18.4 14.8–22.8ROR 18.4 · calibrated p 0.003 ✓ | 17.6 EB05 14.7 · IC025 +3.7 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=87 · ♀ 0% (drug 63%) · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
| Infusion site extravasation | 245 | 17.6 15.5–20.0ROR 17.7 · calibrated p 0.004 ✓ | 16.9 EB05 15.2 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=153 | not reported in cached trials |
| Administration site pain | 43 | 16.9 12.5–22.9ROR 16.9 · calibrated p 0.005 ✓ | 16.1 EB05 12.4 · IC025 +3.3 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | ♀ 100% (drug 63%) | not reported in cached trials |
| Vasoplegia syndrome | 60 | 16.6 12.8–21.4ROR 16.6 · calibrated p 0.005 ✓ | 15.9 EB05 12.7 · IC025 +3.4 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=60 · ♀ 0% (drug 63%) · 100% clinician | not reported in cached trials |
Trial evidence (ClinicalTrials.gov)
✓ Trial adverse-event data found on ClinicalTrials.gov
Largest completed trials with posted results that list Lidocaine and Epinephrine as a study intervention. The right-hand column of the signal table shows whether each FAERS term was also recorded in these trials, with a real denominator (0 of 40 signal terms matched).
- NCT01401647 — Amiodarone, Lidocaine or Neither for Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Due to Ventricular Fibrillation or Tachyca (N=3024, PHASE3; 5 AE terms posted; arms: Amiodarone; Lidocaine; Normal Saline)
Caveats: trial populations, doses and follow-up differ from the reporting population; AE terms are sponsor-coded and matched here by wording; absence from a trial list means the term was not reported above the sponsor's frequency threshold, not that it cannot occur.
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) | 3,637 | 1.2 1.2–1.2ROR 1.2 · calibrated p 0.443 | 1.2 EB05 1.2 · IC025 +0.2 | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 1.7 | not reported in cached trials |
| Pain | 3,170 | 2.2 2.2–2.3ROR 2.3 · calibrated p 0.899 | 2.2 EB05 2.2 · IC025 +1.1 3/3 methods agree | Likely indication confounding term in indications | serious PRR 2.2 | not reported in cached trials |
| Fatigue (tiredness) | 3,040 | 1.7 1.6–1.7ROR 1.7 · calibrated p 0.789 | 1.7 EB05 1.6 · IC025 +0.7 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 1.8 | not reported in cached trials |
| Nausea | 3,030 | 1.7 1.6–1.7ROR 1.7 · calibrated p 0.769 | 1.7 EB05 1.6 · IC025 +0.7 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 1.9 | not reported in cached trials |
| Headache | 2,802 | 1.9 1.9–2.0ROR 2.0 · calibrated p 0.937 | 1.9 EB05 1.9 · IC025 +0.9 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 2.1 | not reported in cached trials |
| Off label use (used outside approved label) | 2,611 | 1.3 1.2–1.3ROR 1.3 · calibrated p 0.516 | 1.3 EB05 1.3 · IC025 +0.3 | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 1.4 | not reported in cached trials |
| Dyspnoea (shortness of breath) | 2,169 | 1.7 1.6–1.7ROR 1.7 · calibrated p 0.759 | 1.7 EB05 1.6 · IC025 +0.7 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 1.6 | not reported in cached trials |
| Pneumonia (lung infection) | 2,001 | 2.7 2.6–2.8ROR 2.7 · calibrated p 0.715 | 2.7 EB05 2.6 · IC025 +1.3 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 2.2 | NCT01401647: 100/993 (10.1%) on Lidocaine and Epinephrine |
| Diarrhoea (diarrhea) | 1,969 | 1.3 1.3–1.4ROR 1.3 · calibrated p 0.530 | 1.3 EB05 1.3 · IC025 +0.3 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 1.3 | not reported in cached trials |
| Sinusitis | 1,939 | 8.3 7.9–8.6ROR 8.6 · calibrated p 0.054 | 8.1 EB05 7.8 · IC025 +2.9 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 8.5 | not reported in cached trials |
| Vomiting | 1,841 | 1.7 1.6–1.8ROR 1.7 · calibrated p 0.782 | 1.7 EB05 1.6 · IC025 +0.7 | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious PRR 1.6 | not reported in cached trials |
| Product dose omission issue | 1,718 | 2.6 2.5–2.7ROR 2.7 · calibrated p 0.746 | 2.6 EB05 2.5 · IC025 +1.3 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 6.1 | not reported in cached trials |
| Fall | 1,713 | 2.2 2.1–2.3ROR 2.3 · calibrated p 0.918 | 2.2 EB05 2.1 · IC025 +1.1 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 1.8 | not reported in cached trials |
| Dizziness | 1,698 | 1.5 1.4–1.5ROR 1.5 · calibrated p 0.633 | 1.5 EB05 1.4 · IC025 +0.5 | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious PRR 1.6 | not reported in cached trials |
| Death | 1,679 | 0.8 0.8–0.9ROR 0.8 · calibrated p 0.203 | 0.8 EB05 0.8 · IC025 -0.3 PRR-only: not supported by EBGM or IC | Outcome field, not a reaction | serious PRR 0.7 | not reported in cached trials |
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.
- Inspiratory capacity decreased — n=84, PRR 189.3
- Appendicolith — n=81, PRR 116.7
- Toxic anterior segment syndrome — n=168, PRR 78.5
- Infusion site discharge — n=217, PRR 62.5
- Methaemoglobinaemia — n=245, PRR 51.2
- Lagophthalmos — n=43, PRR 50.3
- Infusion site mass — n=95, PRR 42.0
- Infusion site bruising — n=176, PRR 38.8
- Infusion site pruritus — n=252, PRR 37.8
- Infusion site haemorrhage — n=238, PRR 34.1
✓ A hand-written Bradford Hill causality assessment exists for this drug: Oxycodone Hydrochloride ↔ Drug Dependence.
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 Lidocaine and Epinephrine?
In FDA FAERS, the most frequently co-reported reaction terms for Lidocaine and Epinephrine are pain, fatigue, nausea, headache, dyspnoea, pneumonia. 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 Lidocaine and Epinephrine have an FDA boxed warning?
No. The FDA label retrieved for Lidocaine and Epinephrine has no boxed warning; see the label's Warnings and Precautions for the recognised risks.
Do FAERS signals prove that Lidocaine and Epinephrine 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 015cea25-d323-43dd-a92f-593a8e4a2921, effective 20250807; matched on
openfda.generic_name.exact:"LIDOCAINE") - 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, 1,193 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 - ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 (query
LIDOCAINE, results-bearing studies sorted by enrollment)
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.