Drug · FAERS side-effect profile with label screen
Zinc Sulfate Injection side effects: what 2,806 FDA adverse event reports show
Drug class
Not stated in label
Brand names
Zincum Metallicum
openFDA label
Who reports
2,806 reports · 76% serious · 390 with death outcome · 52% female
openFDA FAERS counts, all years, deduplication not applied
Used for
Leg Cramps
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 40 strongest signals
Reporting / coding artifact 1Lab value / disease marker 6No label text to screen 33
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.
- 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.
- 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. 102 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hepatic encephalopathy | 39 | 31.3 22.9–42.8ROR 31.7 · χ² 1,110 / p 1e-243 | 30.8 EB05 23.5 · IC025 +4.0 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 23.7 · ♀ 27% (drug 52%) | no trial data cached |
| Accident | 34 | 21.4 15.3–29.9ROR 21.6 · χ² 639 / p 3e-141 | 21.1 EB05 15.8 · IC025 +3.5 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 19.3 · ♀ 0% (drug 52%) · 97% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Malnutrition | 27 | 18.2 12.5–26.5ROR 18.4 · χ² 421 / p 8e-94 | 17.9 EB05 12.8 · IC025 +3.1 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 14.3 · ♀ 77% (drug 52%) · 92% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Iron deficiency anaemia | 22 | 17.9 11.8–27.2ROR 18.1 · χ² 334 / p 6e-75 | 17.5 EB05 12.0 · IC025 +3.0 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 15.7 · ♀ 82% (drug 52%) | no trial data cached |
| Body temperature increased | 47 | 17.2 12.9–22.8ROR 17.5 · χ² 699 / p 2e-154 | 17.0 EB05 13.3 · IC025 +3.4 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious PRR 15.7 · ♀ 11% (drug 52%) · 96% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Haemorrhoids | 39 | 14.9 10.9–20.4ROR 15.1 · χ² 492 / p 2e-109 | 14.7 EB05 11.1 · IC025 +3.1 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 14.0 · ♀ 8% (drug 52%) · 97% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Hiatus hernia | 25 | 14.4 9.8–21.3ROR 14.5 · χ² 298 / p 4e-67 | 13.9 EB05 9.6 · IC025 +2.8 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 12.4 · ♀ 79% (drug 52%) | no trial data cached |
| Emphysema | 19 | 14.0 9.0–22.0ROR 14.1 · χ² 217 / p 2e-49 | 13.3 EB05 8.5 · IC025 +2.6 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 11.4 | no trial data cached |
| Blood calcium decreased | 20 | 13.3 8.6–20.5ROR 13.3 · χ² 214 / p 8e-49 | 12.5 EB05 8.1 · IC025 +2.6 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious PRR 11.3 | no trial data cached |
| Renal tubular necrosis | 16 | 12.2 7.5–19.8ROR 12.2 · χ² 153 / p 2e-35 | 11.0 EB05 6.6 · IC025 +2.3 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 9.3 | no trial data cached |
| Covid-19 pneumonia | 19 | 12.0 7.6–18.7ROR 12.0 · χ² 180 / p 3e-41 | 11.0 EB05 7.0 · IC025 +2.4 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 9.2 | no trial data cached |
| Acute respiratory failure | 30 | 11.7 8.2–16.7ROR 11.8 · χ² 283 / p 7e-64 | 11.2 EB05 7.9 · IC025 +2.7 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 8.9 | no trial data cached |
| Atelectasis | 14 | 10.8 6.4–18.2ROR 10.8 · χ² 115 / p 5e-27 | 9.3 EB05 5.4 · IC025 +2.1 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 7.7 | no trial data cached |
| Bacteraemia | 16 | 10.2 6.2–16.6ROR 10.2 · χ² 123 / p 7e-29 | 8.9 EB05 5.4 · IC025 +2.1 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 7.8 | no trial data cached |
| Sleep apnoea syndrome | 26 | 10.2 6.9–14.9ROR 10.2 · χ² 206 / p 6e-47 | 9.4 EB05 6.5 · IC025 +2.5 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 9.2 | no trial data cached |
| Obstructive airways disorder | 15 | 10.0 6.1–16.6ROR 10.1 · χ² 113 / p 1e-26 | 8.6 EB05 5.2 · IC025 +2.1 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 7.9 | no trial data cached |
| Hypoxia (low oxygen) | 47 | 10.0 7.5–13.3ROR 10.2 · χ² 373 / p 2e-83 | 9.6 EB05 7.4 · IC025 +2.7 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 7.7 | no trial data cached |
| Orthostatic hypotension (dizziness on standing) | 23 | 9.9 6.6–14.8ROR 9.9 · χ² 174 / p 5e-40 | 8.9 EB05 6.0 · IC025 +2.4 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 8.1 | no trial data cached |
| Eructation (belching) | 22 | 8.6 5.7–13.1ROR 8.7 · χ² 141 / p 7e-33 | 7.7 EB05 5.2 · IC025 +2.2 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious n=22 | no trial data cached |
| Respiratory tract infection | 30 | 8.6 6.0–12.3ROR 8.7 · χ² 195 / p 1e-44 | 7.9 EB05 5.7 · IC025 +2.3 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 8.0 · ♀ 0% (drug 52%) · 90% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Aspartate aminotransferase increased | 61 | 8.6 6.7–11.0ROR 8.8 · χ² 402 / p 1e-89 | 8.2 EB05 6.6 · IC025 +2.6 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious PRR 6.6 · 95% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Alanine aminotransferase increased | 68 | 8.3 6.5–10.5ROR 8.5 · χ² 428 / p 2e-95 | 8.0 EB05 6.5 · IC025 +2.6 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious PRR 5.9 · ♀ 30% (drug 52%) · 97% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Liver function test increased | 23 | 8.1 5.4–12.1ROR 8.1 · χ² 135 / p 1e-31 | 7.2 EB05 5.0 · IC025 +2.1 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 6.2 | no trial data cached |
| Intervertebral disc degeneration | 10 | 8.0 4.3–14.9ROR 8.1 · χ² 55 / p 7e-14 | 6.3 EB05 3.5 · IC025 +1.5 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 7.0 | no trial data cached |
| Carpal tunnel syndrome | 15 | 8.0 4.8–13.2ROR 8.0 · χ² 85 / p 2e-20 | 6.7 EB05 4.2 · IC025 +1.8 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 7.5 | no trial data cached |
| Electrolyte imbalance | 12 | 7.8 4.4–13.7ROR 7.8 · χ² 64 / p 5e-16 | 6.3 EB05 3.8 · IC025 +1.6 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 6.1 | no trial data cached |
| Inability to afford medication | 10 | 7.6 4.1–14.1ROR 7.6 · χ² 51 / p 5e-13 | 5.9 EB05 3.4 · IC025 +1.5 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious n=9 | no trial data cached |
| Hepatic cirrhosis | 19 | 7.6 4.9–11.9ROR 7.6 · χ² 102 / p 2e-24 | 6.6 EB05 4.4 · IC025 +1.9 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.8 | no trial data cached |
| International normalised ratio increased | 28 | 7.3 5.0–10.5ROR 7.3 · χ² 145 / p 1e-33 | 6.6 EB05 4.8 · IC025 +2.1 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious PRR 4.8 · 96% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Cardiomegaly | 12 | 7.2 4.1–12.7ROR 7.3 · χ² 58 / p 1e-14 | 5.9 EB05 3.5 · IC025 +1.6 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.6 | no trial data cached |
| Candida infection (yeast infection) | 16 | 7.2 4.4–11.7ROR 7.2 · χ² 79 / p 3e-19 | 6.1 EB05 3.9 · IC025 +1.8 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 7.8 | no trial data cached |
| Sickle cell anaemia with crisis | 15 | 7.1 4.3–11.8ROR 7.1 · χ² 73 / p 8e-18 | 6.0 EB05 3.8 · IC025 +1.7 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 7.5 | no trial data cached |
| Clostridium difficile colitis | 10 | 7.0 3.8–13.1ROR 7.1 · χ² 46 / p 6e-12 | 5.5 EB05 3.2 · IC025 +1.4 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.4 | no trial data cached |
| End stage renal disease | 17 | 6.9 4.3–11.1ROR 6.9 · χ² 80 / p 2e-19 | 5.9 EB05 3.9 · IC025 +1.7 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.2 | no trial data cached |
| Blood alkaline phosphatase increased | 22 | 6.6 4.4–10.0ROR 6.7 · χ² 99 / p 1e-23 | 5.9 EB05 4.1 · IC025 +1.8 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious PRR 5.2 · 90% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Insurance issue | 13 | 6.5 3.8–11.3ROR 6.6 · χ² 56 / p 5e-14 | 5.4 EB05 3.4 · IC025 +1.5 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 7.9 | no trial data cached |
| Osteoarthritis | 37 | 6.5 4.7–9.0ROR 6.6 · χ² 167 / p 1e-38 | 6.1 EB05 4.6 · IC025 +2.1 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.4 · ♀ 89% (drug 52%) | no trial data cached |
| Hyperlipidaemia | 10 | 6.2 3.4–11.6ROR 6.3 · χ² 39 / p 2e-10 | 5.0 EB05 2.9 · IC025 +1.2 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.2 | no trial data cached |
| Dyspnoea exertional | 31 | 6.2 4.3–8.8ROR 6.2 · χ² 129 / p 3e-30 | 5.7 EB05 4.2 · IC025 +1.9 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.9 · ♀ 80% (drug 52%) | no trial data cached |
| Economic problem | 12 | 5.8 3.3–10.2ROR 5.8 · χ² 43 / p 3e-11 | 4.8 EB05 3.0 · IC025 +1.3 3/3 methods agree | Reporting / coding artifact | serious PRR 4.8 | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acute kidney injury (sudden kidney damage) | 91 | 4.5 3.6–5.5ROR 4.6 · χ² 243 / p 5e-55 | 4.4 EB05 3.7 · IC025 +1.8 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 3.4 · ♀ 31% (drug 52%) | no trial data cached |
| Neutropenia (low neutrophils (infection-fighting cells)) | 84 | 4.6 3.8–5.7ROR 4.7 · χ² 237 / p 9e-54 | 4.5 EB05 3.8 · IC025 +1.8 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 3.6 · ♀ 21% (drug 52%) · 94% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Covid-19 | 76 | 3.2 2.6–4.0ROR 3.3 · χ² 114 / p 6e-27 | 3.2 EB05 2.6 · IC025 +1.3 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 3.8 | no trial data cached |
| Chills | 71 | 4.5 3.6–5.7ROR 4.6 · χ² 192 / p 6e-44 | 4.4 EB05 3.6 · IC025 +1.7 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 5.1 · ♀ 26% (drug 52%) | no trial data cached |
| Alanine aminotransferase increased | 68 | 8.3 6.5–10.5ROR 8.5 · χ² 428 / p 2e-95 | 8.0 EB05 6.5 · IC025 +2.6 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious PRR 5.9 · ♀ 30% (drug 52%) · 97% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Pulmonary embolism (lung blood clot) | 62 | 4.9 3.8–6.2ROR 4.9 · χ² 187 / p 9e-43 | 4.7 EB05 3.8 · IC025 +1.8 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 3.6 · 92% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Aspartate aminotransferase increased | 61 | 8.6 6.7–11.0ROR 8.8 · χ² 402 / p 1e-89 | 8.2 EB05 6.6 · IC025 +2.6 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious PRR 6.6 · 95% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Thrombocytopenia (low platelets) | 56 | 3.8 2.9–4.9ROR 3.8 · χ² 111 / p 3e-26 | 3.6 EB05 2.9 · IC025 +1.4 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 2.8 · ♀ 31% (drug 52%) · 93% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Platelet count decreased | 52 | 3.6 2.8–4.8ROR 3.7 · χ² 98 / p 2e-23 | 3.5 EB05 2.8 · IC025 +1.4 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious PRR 3.1 | no trial data cached |
| Haemoglobin decreased | 51 | 3.7 2.8–4.9ROR 3.8 · χ² 98 / p 2e-23 | 3.6 EB05 2.8 · IC025 +1.4 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious PRR 2.7 | no trial data cached |
| Febrile neutropenia | 50 | 5.6 4.3–7.4ROR 5.7 · χ² 187 / p 8e-43 | 5.4 EB05 4.2 · IC025 +2.0 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 4.3 · ♀ 8% (drug 52%) · 96% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Respiratory failure | 48 | 4.9 3.7–6.5ROR 5.0 · χ² 146 / p 6e-34 | 4.7 EB05 3.7 · IC025 +1.8 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 3.7 · 93% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Hypoxia (low oxygen) | 47 | 10.0 7.5–13.3ROR 10.2 · χ² 373 / p 2e-83 | 9.6 EB05 7.4 · IC025 +2.7 3/3 methods agree | No label text to screen label has no adverse-reaction text | serious PRR 7.7 | no trial data cached |
| Body temperature increased | 47 | 17.2 12.9–22.8ROR 17.5 · χ² 699 / p 2e-154 | 17.0 EB05 13.3 · IC025 +3.4 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious PRR 15.7 · ♀ 11% (drug 52%) · 96% clinician | no trial data cached |
| Blood creatinine increased | 44 | 5.0 3.7–6.7ROR 5.1 · χ² 138 / p 3e-32 | 4.8 EB05 3.7 · IC025 +1.8 3/3 methods agree | Lab value / disease marker | serious PRR 3.9 | 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 Zinc?
In FDA FAERS, the most frequently co-reported reaction terms for Zinc are acute kidney injury, neutropenia, covid-19, chills, alanine aminotransferase increased, pulmonary embolism. 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 Zinc have an FDA boxed warning?
No. The FDA label retrieved for Zinc has no boxed warning; see the label's Warnings and Precautions for the recognised risks.
Do FAERS signals prove that 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 0eba1030-7c33-11e6-8959-424c58303031, effective 20230720; matched on
openfda.generic_name.exact:"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, 142 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.