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What the label lists and what reports show

Methohexital side effects

Methohexital's FDA label lists its adverse reactions in its own words. FAERS holds 122 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 drug effect decreased (7 reports).

  • Generic listed
  • Boxed warning
  • DEA Schedule IV

Check it at the source: the methohexital FDA label on DailyMed (effective January 28, 2026, ONESOURCE SPECIALTY PHARMA LIMITED); the FDA FAERS public dashboard.

What does the label list?

From the label: adverse reactions

Side effects associated with Methohexital Sodium for Injection are extensions of pharmacologic effects and include: Cardiovascular Circulatory depression, thrombophlebitis, hypotension, tachycardia, peripheral vascular collapse, and convulsions in association with cardiorespiratory arrest. Respiratory Respiratory depression (including apnea), cardiorespiratory arrest, laryngospasm, bronchospasm, hiccups, and dyspnea Neurologic Skeletal muscle hyperactivity (twitching), injury to nerves adjacent to injection site, and seizures Psychiatric Emergence delirium, restlessness, and anxiety may occur, especially in the presence of postoperative pain Gastrointestinal Nausea, emesis, abdominal pain, and liver function tests abnormal Allergic Erythema, pruritus, urticaria, and cases of anaphylaxis have been reported rarely Other Other adverse reactions include pain at injection site, salivation …

Source: FDA drug label, ONESOURCE SPECIALTY PHARMA LIMITED, effective January 28, 2026 (SPL set 6fb09acf-4937-47a0-a9da-084ec062da6f), via openFDA; the full label on DailyMed

What do FAERS reports show?

122 reports list methohexital among the medicines taken, each a report of something that happened, not proof the medicine caused it; 2 are coded as a death and 12 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. 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.

The 25 most reported reactions

  • Drug Ineffective (a use or a product term, not a reaction)63
  • Product Quality Issue (a use or a product term, not a reaction)25
  • Off Label Use (a use or a product term, not a reaction)8
  • Drug Effect Decreased7
  • Vomiting (named in the label)7
  • Nausea (named in the label)6
  • Drug Effect Less Than Expected5
  • Maternal Exposure During Pregnancy (a use or a product term, not a reaction)5
  • Unwanted Awareness During Anaesthesia5
  • Hypotension (named in the label)4
  • Airway Complication Of Anaesthesia3
  • Blood Pressure Decreased3
  • Bradycardia3
  • Dyspnoea (named in the label)3
  • Ventricular Extrasystoles3
  • Abdominal Pain2
  • Anaemia2
  • Anxiety (named in the label)2
  • Atrial Fibrillation2
  • Cardiac Arrest2
  • Condition Aggravated (a use or a product term, not a reaction)2
  • Cough2
  • Depression2
  • Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation2
  • Dizziness2

Source: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) via openFDA, reports through July 30, 2026; reactions as MedDRA preferred terms

What next?

Methohexital: the full record
label, generics, price, shortages, recalls
Side effects hub
the most reported medicines and reactions