Table: Some Serious Adverse Drug Reactions - Merck Manuals Consumer Version

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Some Serious Adverse Drug Reactions

Adverse Drug Reaction	Types of Drugs	Examples
Anemia Anemia read more (resulting from decreased production or increased destruction of red blood cells)	Certain antibiotics	Chloramphenicol
	Drugs used to treat malaria or tuberculosis in people with G6PD enzyme deficiency	Chloroquine Isoniazid Primaquine
Angioedema Angioedema Angioedema is swelling of areas of tissue under the skin, sometimes affecting the face and throat. Angioedema can be a reaction to a drug or other substance (trigger), a hereditary disorder... read more (swelling of the lips, tongue, and throat causing difficulty breathing)	ACE inhibitors	Captopril Enalapril Lisinopril
Bone fractures Overview of Fractures A fracture is a crack or break in a bone. Most fractures result from force applied to a bone. Fractures usually result from injuries or overuse. The injured part hurts (especially when it is... read more	Proton pump inhibitors	Esomeprazole Lansoprazole Omeprazole
Blood clots How Blood Clots Hemostasis is the body's way of stopping injured blood vessels from bleeding. Hemostasis includes clotting of the blood. Too little clotting can cause excessive bleeding from minor injury Too... read more	Birth control drugs (all forms including patches and pills)	Drospirenone/ethinyl estradiol Norelgestromin/ethinyl estradiol
Confusion and drowsiness	Sedatives, including many antihistamines	Diphenhydramine
Confusion and drowsiness	Antidepressants (especially in older people)	Amitriptyline Imipramine
Decreased production of white blood cells, with increased risk of infection	Certain antipsychotic drugs	Clozapine
	Chemotherapy drugs	Cyclophosphamide Mercaptopurine Methotrexate Vinblastine
	Some drugs used to treat thyroid disorders	Propylthiouracil
Kidney damage Overview of Kidney Failure This chapter includes a new section on COVID-19 and acute kidney injury (AKI). Kidney failure is the inability of the kidneys to adequately filter metabolic waste products from the blood. Kidney... read more	NSAIDs (repeated use of excessive doses)	Ibuprofen Naproxen
	Aminoglycoside antibiotics	Gentamicin Tobramycin
	Some chemotherapy drugs	Cisplatin Methotrexate
	Antifungals	Amphotericin B
	Some antibiotics	Gentamicin Tetracycline (outdated)
Liver damage Liver Injury Caused by Drugs Many drugs can affect the way the liver functions, damage the liver, or do both. (See also Drugs and the Liver.) Some drugs, such as statins (used to treat high cholesterol), can increase the... read more	Some analgesics	Acetaminophen (use of excessive doses)
	Some drugs used to treat tuberculosis	Isoniazid
	Iron supplements (in excessive amounts)	Ferrous sulfate, ferrous fumarate
	Antidepressants	Duloxetine
	Antibiotics	Tetracycline
Muscle tissue destruction (rhabdomyolysis Rhabdomyolysis Rhabdomyolysis occurs when muscle fibers damaged by disease, injury, or toxic substances break down and release their contents into the bloodstream. Severe disease can cause acute kidney injury... read more )	Statins	Atorvastatin Simvastatin
Stomach or intestinal ulcers Peptic Ulcer Disease A peptic ulcer is a round or oval sore where the lining of the stomach or duodenum has been eaten away by stomach acid and digestive juices. Peptic ulcers can result from Helicobacter pylori... read more (with or without bleeding)	NSAIDs	Aspirin Ibuprofen Naproxen
	Anticoagulants	Heparin Warfarin
	Bisphosphonates	Alendronate Risedronate
Toxic epidermal necrolysis Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN) Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis are two forms of the same life-threatening skin disease that cause rash, skin peeling, and sores on the mucous membranes. (See also Introduction... read more	Some antibiotics	Penicillins Quinolones Sulfonamides
	Anticonvulsants	Phenytoin Valproic acid
Ventricular tachycardia Ventricular Tachycardia Ventricular tachycardia is a heart rhythm that originates in the ventricles (lower chambers of the heart) and produces a heart rate of at least 120 beats per minute (the normal heart rate is... read more	Antiarrhythmics	Amiodarone Procainamide Sotalol
	Antipsychotics	Chlorpromazine Haloperidol Lithium
ACE = angiotensin-converting enzyme; G6PD = glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase; NSAIDs = nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

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Some Serious Adverse Drug Reactions