What the label lists and what reports show
Dextrose side effects
Dextrose's FDA label: “The most common adverse reactions are, hyperglycemia, hypersensitivity reactions, hyponatremia, infection both systemic and at the injection site, vein thrombosis or phlebitis, and electrolyte imbalance.” FAERS holds 13,300 reports naming it through July 30, 2026; the reaction reported most often, leaving out the conditions it is used for, product-use terms and outcomes, is myelosuppression (1,752 reports).
- Generic listed
- In shortage
Check it at the source: the dextrose FDA label on DailyMed (effective June 30, 2025, Baxter Healthcare Corporation); the FDA FAERS public dashboard.
What does the label list?
From the label: adverse reactionsThe most common adverse reactions are, hyperglycemia, hypersensitivity reactions, hyponatremia, infection both systemic and at the injection site, vein thrombosis or phlebitis, and electrolyte imbalance.
From the label: adverse reactions, continuedThe following adverse reactions associated with the use of dextrose injection were identified in clinical trials or postmarketing reports. Because these reactions were reported voluntarily from a population of uncertain size, it is not always possible to estimate their frequency, reliably, or to establish a causal relationship to drug exposure. The following clinically significant adverse reactions are described elsewhere in the labeling: • Hyperglycemia and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1 )] • Hypersensitivity Reactions: anaphylaxis, pruritis, bronchospasm, cyanosis, angioedema, hypotension, pyrexia, chills, and rash [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2 )] • Infusion Site Reactions: infusion site phlebitis, infusion site erythema, vein damage and thrombosis [see Warnings and Precautions (5.3 )] • Hyponatremia and hyponatremic encephalopathy [see Warnings and Precautions (5.4 )] • Electrolyte imbalance, fluid overload and hypervolemia [see Warnings and Precautions (5.5 )] • Refeeding syndrome [see Warnings and Precautions (5.6 )] The most common adverse reactions are, hyperglycemia, hypersensitivity reactions, hyponatremia, infection both systemic and at the injection site, vein thrombosis or phlebitis, and electrolyte imbalance. …
Source: FDA drug label, Baxter Healthcare Corporation, effective June 30, 2025 (SPL set 36e9478c-5df0-4b47-b97d-de3626d7cb29), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed
What do FAERS reports show?
13,300 reports list dextrose among the medicines taken, each a report of something that happened, not proof the medicine caused it; 2,066 are coded as a death and 6,673 as a hospital stay. Counts follow how widely a medicine is used and watched, and they are not a measure of how risky it is. Reports rose sharply in 2023 (2,044, against a median of 612 a year): FAERS counts follow reporting, which news, litigation and label changes can drive, not how often a reaction happens. Of the 20 reactions below, 5 are named by the same term (in US spelling) in the label's adverse reactions, warnings or patient leaflet; a reaction the label does not name may still be there under another word, and a report does not show that the medicine caused it.
Reports received each year
The 25 most reported reactions
Source: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) via openFDA, reports through July 30, 2026; reactions as MedDRA preferred terms
What next?
- Dextrose: the full record
- label, generics, price, shortages, recalls
- Report a side effect to the FDA
- MedWatch
- Side effects hub
- the most reported medicines and reactions