Warfarin Sodium side effects: what 46,105 FDA adverse event reports show
Drug class
Not stated in label
Brand names
Warfarin Sodium
Who reports
46,105 reports · 79% serious · 5,435 with death outcome · 48% female
Used for
Warfarin sodium tablets are indicated for: Prophylaxis and treatment of venous thrombosis and its extension, pulmonary embolism (PE). Prophylaxis and treatment of thromboembolic complications associated with atrial fibrillation (AF) and/or cardiac valve replacement.
What it is
Crystalline warfarin sodium is an anticoagulant that acts by inhibiting vitamin K-dependent coagulation factors.
Boxed warning
BLEEDING RISK Warfarin sodium can cause major or fatal bleeding [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] . Perform regular monitoring of INR in all treated patients [see Dosage and Administration (2.1) ] . Drugs, dietary changes, and other factors affect INR levels achieved with warfarin sodium therapy [see Drug Interactions (7) ] .
Causality screen of the 40 strongest signals
What the badges mean
- Labeled — boxed warning The term (or its clinical synonym) appears in the FDA boxed warning: causality is regulator-recognised and considered serious.
- Labeled adverse reaction The exact term appears in the label's warnings or adverse-reactions sections: a known, expected effect. The FAERS signal confirms the label rather than discovering anything.
- Labeled (related wording) The label describes this effect under different wording (e.g. 'neutropenia' for 'neutrophil count decreased'). Treated as known.
- 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). 1,211 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appendicolith | 128 | 232.0 187.5–287.2ROR 232.7 · calibrated p 2e-10 ✓ | 149.8 EB05 129.2 · IC025 +6.3 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=128 · ♀ 13% (drug 48%) · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Antacid therapy | 38 | 210.0 142.9–308.8ROR 210.2 · calibrated p 1e-9 ✓ | 133.8 EB05 101.8 · IC025 +5.1 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=38 · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Sleep disorder therapy | 39 | 120.4 84.6–171.5ROR 120.5 · calibrated p 7e-8 ✓ | 91.0 EB05 69.5 · IC025 +4.9 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=39 · ♀ 0% (drug 48%) · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Anticoagulation drug level above therapeutic | 322 | 120.0 106.2–135.7ROR 120.9 · calibrated p 3e-8 ✓ | 94.4 EB05 86.0 · IC025 +6.2 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=205 · 94% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| International normalised ratio abnormal | 683 | 111.4 102.5–121.1ROR 113.1 · calibrated p 5e-8 ✓ | 89.2 EB05 83.7 · IC025 +6.3 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=480 | no trial arm names this drug |
| International normalised ratio decreased | 767 | 105.1 97.2–113.7ROR 106.9 · calibrated p 7e-8 ✓ | 85.1 EB05 80.2 · IC025 +6.2 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=585 | no trial arm names this drug |
| International normalised ratio increased | 5,088 | 97.7 94.9–100.5ROR 109.6 · calibrated p 6e-8 ✓ | 80.3 EB05 78.5 · IC025 +6.3 3/3 methods agree | Labeled — boxed warning synonym match | serious PRR 59.5 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Analgesic therapy | 53 | 94.9 70.6–127.6ROR 95.0 · calibrated p 3e-7 ✓ | 76.4 EB05 60.6 · IC025 +5.1 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=53 · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| International normalised ratio fluctuation | 351 | 91.5 81.6–102.6ROR 92.2 · calibrated p 2e-7 ✓ | 75.8 EB05 69.4 · IC025 +5.9 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=177 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Steroid dependence | 138 | 88.1 73.5–105.8ROR 88.4 · calibrated p 3e-7 ✓ | 73.1 EB05 63.4 · IC025 +5.6 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=138 · ♀ 22% (drug 48%) · 92% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Drug therapy | 50 | 84.2 62.2–113.8ROR 84.2 · calibrated p 7e-7 ✓ | 69.2 EB05 54.5 · IC025 +4.9 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=50 · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Anticoagulant therapy | 37 | 69.9 49.4–98.8ROR 70.0 · calibrated p 3e-6 ✓ | 58.8 EB05 44.6 · IC025 +4.5 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=37 · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Catarrh | 117 | 68.8 56.7–83.6ROR 69.0 · calibrated p 2e-6 ✓ | 59.2 EB05 50.8 · IC025 +5.3 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=117 · ♀ 26% (drug 48%) · 93% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Anticoagulation drug level below therapeutic | 101 | 68.4 55.5–84.3ROR 68.6 · calibrated p 2e-6 ✓ | 58.8 EB05 49.8 · IC025 +5.2 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=65 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Calciphylaxis | 224 | 63.4 55.1–72.9ROR 63.7 · calibrated p 3e-6 ✓ | 55.4 EB05 49.6 · IC025 +5.4 3/3 methods agree | Labeled — boxed warning exact term | serious n=224 · ♀ 72% (drug 48%) · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Central nervous system haemorrhage | 57 | 63.2 47.9–83.3ROR 63.2 · calibrated p 4e-6 ✓ | 54.5 EB05 43.6 · IC025 +4.8 3/3 methods agree | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious n=57 · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Prothrombin time abnormal | 72 | 52.8 41.3–67.3ROR 52.8 · calibrated p 1e-5 ✓ | 46.8 EB05 38.4 · IC025 +4.8 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=42 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Blue toe syndrome | 31 | 39.3 27.2–56.8ROR 39.3 · calibrated p 1e-4 ✓ | 35.5 EB05 26.2 · IC025 +3.9 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | ♀ 0% (drug 48%) | no trial arm names this drug |
| Cardiospasm | 44 | 38.9 28.6–52.9ROR 38.9 · calibrated p 9e-5 ✓ | 35.3 EB05 27.4 · IC025 +4.2 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=44 · ♀ 100% (drug 48%) | no trial arm names this drug |
| Prothrombin time prolonged | 426 | 34.4 31.2–38.0ROR 34.7 · calibrated p 1e-4 ✓ | 32.0 EB05 29.5 · IC025 +4.8 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=382 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Immunisation | 30 | 33.7 23.3–48.9ROR 33.8 · calibrated p 2e-4 ✓ | 30.9 EB05 22.7 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=30 · ♀ 100% (drug 48%) | no trial arm names this drug |
| Burns second degree | 120 | 33.4 27.8–40.2ROR 33.5 · calibrated p 2e-4 ✓ | 31.0 EB05 26.7 · IC025 +4.5 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=120 · 92% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Coagulation time prolonged | 100 | 31.1 25.4–38.1ROR 31.2 · calibrated p 2e-4 ✓ | 29.0 EB05 24.5 · IC025 +4.3 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=94 · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Palmoplantar keratoderma | 45 | 30.3 22.4–40.9ROR 30.3 · calibrated p 3e-4 ✓ | 28.1 EB05 21.9 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=45 · ♀ 100% (drug 48%) | no trial arm names this drug |
| Retroperitoneal haematoma | 136 | 30.0 25.2–35.6ROR 30.1 · calibrated p 3e-4 ✓ | 28.1 EB05 24.3 · IC025 +4.4 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=135 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Coagulation test abnormal | 44 | 27.8 20.5–37.7ROR 27.9 · calibrated p 5e-4 ✓ | 26.0 EB05 20.2 · IC025 +3.9 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious n=43 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Prothrombin time shortened | 73 | 24.9 19.7–31.5ROR 24.9 · calibrated p 8e-4 ✓ | 23.5 EB05 19.3 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=54 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Cardioactive drug level increased | 69 | 24.9 19.5–31.7ROR 24.9 · calibrated p 8e-4 ✓ | 23.5 EB05 19.2 · IC025 +3.9 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=67 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Retroperitoneal haemorrhage | 123 | 23.8 19.8–28.5ROR 23.8 · calibrated p 9e-4 ✓ | 22.6 EB05 19.4 · IC025 +4.1 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=120 · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Intra-abdominal haematoma | 60 | 23.0 17.8–29.8ROR 23.0 · calibrated p 0.001 ✓ | 21.8 EB05 17.6 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=60 · ♀ 25% (drug 48%) · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Therapeutic agent toxicity | 163 | 23.0 19.6–26.9ROR 23.1 · calibrated p 0.001 ✓ | 21.9 EB05 19.2 · IC025 +4.1 3/3 methods agree | Labeled (related wording) related wording | serious n=161 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Blood phosphorus increased | 125 | 21.8 18.2–26.1ROR 21.9 · calibrated p 0.001 ✓ | 20.8 EB05 17.9 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=124 · ♀ 17% (drug 48%) · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Prothrombin level decreased | 43 | 21.5 15.8–29.1ROR 21.5 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 20.4 EB05 15.7 · IC025 +3.6 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=38 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Haemorrhage intracranial | 655 | 20.7 19.2–22.4ROR 21.0 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 19.8 EB05 18.6 · IC025 +4.2 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 14.2 · 95% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Muscle haemorrhage | 172 | 20.4 17.5–23.7ROR 20.4 · calibrated p 0.002 ✓ | 19.5 EB05 17.2 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=171 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Sick sinus syndrome | 46 | 18.7 13.9–25.1ROR 18.7 · calibrated p 0.003 ✓ | 17.8 EB05 13.9 · IC025 +3.4 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=46 · ♀ 0% (drug 48%) · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Activated partial thromboplastin time prolonged | 197 | 18.3 15.9–21.1ROR 18.4 · calibrated p 0.003 ✓ | 17.6 EB05 15.6 · IC025 +3.8 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious n=187 · 94% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Hyperphosphataemia | 81 | 18.0 14.4–22.5ROR 18.1 · calibrated p 0.004 ✓ | 17.3 EB05 14.3 · IC025 +3.6 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=79 · ♀ 25% (drug 48%) · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Abdominal wall haematoma | 73 | 17.7 14.0–22.3ROR 17.7 · calibrated p 0.004 ✓ | 17.0 EB05 13.9 · IC025 +3.6 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious n=72 · 100% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
| Gastric haemorrhage | 421 | 17.1 15.5–18.9ROR 17.3 · calibrated p 0.004 ✓ | 16.5 EB05 15.2 · IC025 +3.9 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 12.0 · ♀ 8% (drug 48%) · 96% clinician | no trial arm names this drug |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| International normalised ratio increased | 5,088 | 97.7 94.9–100.5ROR 109.6 · calibrated p 6e-8 ✓ | 80.3 EB05 78.5 · IC025 +6.3 3/3 methods agree | Labeled — boxed warning synonym match | serious PRR 59.5 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Dyspnoea (shortness of breath) | 2,535 | 2.0 2.0–2.1ROR 2.1 · calibrated p 0.999 | 2.0 EB05 2.0 · IC025 +1.0 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 1.8 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Drug interaction | 2,511 | 7.3 7.0–7.6ROR 7.7 · calibrated p 0.076 | 7.2 EB05 7.0 · IC025 +2.8 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 5.5 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Fatigue (tiredness) | 2,095 | 1.2 1.2–1.3ROR 1.2 · calibrated p 0.466 | 1.2 EB05 1.2 · IC025 +0.2 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 1.2 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Nausea | 2,082 | 1.2 1.2–1.3ROR 1.2 · calibrated p 0.447 | 1.2 EB05 1.2 · IC025 +0.2 | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious PRR 1.3 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Diarrhoea (diarrhea) | 1,886 | 1.3 1.3–1.4ROR 1.3 · calibrated p 0.541 | 1.3 EB05 1.3 · IC025 +0.3 | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious PRR 1.2 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Dizziness | 1,880 | 1.7 1.6–1.8ROR 1.8 · calibrated p 0.800 | 1.7 EB05 1.7 · IC025 +0.7 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 1.7 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Fall | 1,700 | 2.3 2.2–2.4ROR 2.4 · calibrated p 0.865 | 2.3 EB05 2.2 · IC025 +1.1 3/3 methods agree | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 1.9 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Asthenia (weakness) | 1,693 | 2.1 2.0–2.2ROR 2.1 · calibrated p 0.993 | 2.0 EB05 2.0 · IC025 +1.0 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 1.8 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Anaemia (low red blood cells) | 1,682 | 4.0 3.8–4.2ROR 4.1 · calibrated p 0.351 | 4.0 EB05 3.8 · IC025 +1.9 3/3 methods agree | Labeled — boxed warning exact term | serious PRR 3.1 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Drug ineffective (drug did not work) | 1,643 | 0.6 0.5–0.6ROR 0.6 · calibrated p 0.066 | 0.6 EB05 0.5 · IC025 -0.9 PRR-only: not supported by EBGM or IC | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 0.7 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Haemorrhage | 1,572 | 6.9 6.6–7.3ROR 7.1 · calibrated p 0.093 | 6.8 EB05 6.5 · IC025 +2.7 3/3 methods agree | Labeled — boxed warning exact term | serious PRR 5.5 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Headache | 1,519 | 1.1 1.1–1.2ROR 1.1 · calibrated p 0.377 | 1.1 EB05 1.1 · IC025 +0.1 | Not in label — unassessed | serious PRR 1.2 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Atrial fibrillation | 1,476 | 7.0 6.6–7.3ROR 7.2 · calibrated p 0.092 | 6.9 EB05 6.6 · IC025 +2.7 3/3 methods agree | Likely indication confounding term in indications | serious PRR 5.1 | no trial arm names this drug |
| Pain | 1,397 | 1.0 1.0–1.1ROR 1.0 · calibrated p 0.329 | 1.0 EB05 1.0 · IC025 -0.0 PRR-only: not supported by EBGM or IC | Labeled adverse reaction exact term | serious PRR 1.0 | no trial arm names this drug |
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.
- Appendicolith — n=128, PRR 232.0
- Steroid dependence — n=138, PRR 88.1
- Catarrh — n=117, PRR 68.8
- Blue toe syndrome — n=31, PRR 39.3
- Cardiospasm — n=44, PRR 38.9
- Immunisation — n=30, PRR 33.7
- Burns second degree — n=120, PRR 33.4
- Palmoplantar keratoderma — n=45, PRR 30.3
- Retroperitoneal haematoma — n=136, PRR 30.0
- Retroperitoneal haemorrhage — n=123, PRR 23.8
✓ A hand-written Bradford Hill causality assessment exists for this drug: Warfarin ↔ INR increased.
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 Warfarin Sodium?
In FDA FAERS, the most frequently co-reported reaction terms for Warfarin Sodium are international normalised ratio increased, dyspnoea, fatigue, nausea, diarrhoea, dizziness. 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 Warfarin Sodium have an FDA boxed warning?
Yes. The current FDA label carries a boxed warning: BLEEDING RISK Warfarin sodium can cause major or fatal bleeding [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] . Perform regular monitoring of INR in all treated patients [see Dosage and Administration (2.1) ] . Drugs, dietary changes, and other factors affect INR levels achieved with warfarin sodium therapy [see Drug Interactions (7) ] .
Do FAERS signals prove that Warfarin Sodium 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 2cbcc99d-9107-4d39-a1e9-e19305de8b5d, effective 20260625; matched on
openfda.generic_name.exact:"WARFARIN") - 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, 1,251 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
WARFARIN, 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.