PlainMeds provides educational information only. This is not medical advice. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist.

Drug side effects

piroxicam Side Effects

The reactions most often reported to the FDA for piroxicam (also sold as Feldene), with demographics, serious outcomes, and reporting trends.

Data updated 2026-05-15

6,176
FAERS reports

Data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), 2004 to 2025. A FAERS report records a temporal association, not proof of cause. See our methodology for how figures are compiled and de-duplicated.

The most commonly reported side effects of piroxicam come from 6,176 reports to the FDA, broken down here by frequency, patient demographics, and serious outcomes.

This page analyzes 6,176 reports to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) for piroxicam (Feldene): the reactions reported most often, who reported them, serious outcomes such as hospitalization, and year-over-year trends. A FAERS report does not prove the drug caused the effect, and report volume tracks how widely a drug is used, not how likely an effect is for any one person. Educational information, not medical advice.

Total Reports

6,176

Reports Mentioning Death

1,024

16.6% of reports — not proof the medicine caused the death

Hospitalizations

2,479

40.1% of reports

Top Indication

Product Used For Unknown Indication

Most Reported Adverse Reactions

DRUG HYPERSENSITIVITY
940
RASH
874
ARTHRALGIA
861
CONDITION AGGRAVATED
857
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
809
DIARRHOEA
806
FATIGUE
802
PAIN
797
NAUSEA
788
PSORIATIC ARTHROPATHY
781
SINUSITIS
775
SCIATICA
725
HEADACHE
716
JOINT SWELLING
646
VOMITING
615
HYPERTENSION
604
DYSPNOEA
602

Who Reports Side Effects

Gender Distribution

Female 3,947 (71%)
Male 1,608 (29%)
Unknown 22

Age Distribution

0-17 114 (3%)
18-44 1,362 (32%)
45-64 1,477 (35%)
65-74 781 (18%)
75+ 540 (13%)

Reporting Trend by Year

2004 2025

Reactions in Death Reports

Top reactions reported in 1,024 reports where death was an outcome. These are voluntarily reported and do not establish causation.

Reaction Reports
DIARRHOEA 361
CONFUSIONAL STATE 350
ABDOMINAL PAIN UPPER 348
MOBILITY DECREASED 346
DECREASED APPETITE 345
GENERAL PHYSICAL HEALTH DETERIORATION 343
OEDEMA 341
RHEUMATOID FACTOR POSITIVE 339
DUODENAL ULCER PERFORATION 338
TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS 335
VOMITING 335
C-REACTIVE PROTEIN ABNORMAL 334
ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT 334
ARTHRALGIA 333
ASTHENIA 332
ALOPECIA 328
FATIGUE 328
FOLLICULITIS 327
LOWER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTION 327
SYSTEMIC LUPUS ERYTHEMATOSUS 326

Reactions in Hospitalization Reports

Top reactions in 2,479 reports where hospitalization was an outcome.

Reaction Reports
DIARRHOEA 556
ARTHRALGIA 546
NAUSEA 539
FATIGUE 530
PAIN 503
HEADACHE 488
DYSPNOEA 487
DRUG HYPERSENSITIVITY 485
CONDITION AGGRAVATED 484
ABDOMINAL PAIN UPPER 480
DECREASED APPETITE 477
ANXIETY 476
HYPERTENSION 476
ASTHENIA 475
GENERAL PHYSICAL HEALTH DETERIORATION 471
ARTHROPATHY 470
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS 469
VOMITING 467
ALOPECIA 462
ABDOMINAL DISCOMFORT 461

Compare piroxicam vs abatacept →

What the FAERS Data Reveals About piroxicam Side Effects

The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) contains 6,176 voluntary reports linked to piroxicam and its brand equivalents (Feldene), spanning 2004 through 2025. Of those, 1,024 (16.6%) listed death as an outcome and 2,479 (40.1%) involved hospitalization. The most common indication reported alongside adverse events was Product Used For Unknown Indication.

Demographic breakdowns help contextualize who is being exposed to the drug. Of reports with known sex, 71% were female and 29% male; age distribution skews toward 45-64, with 1,477 reports in that bracket. The single most reported reaction is drug hypersensitivity with 940 submissions, followed by rash and arthralgia.

How to read these numbers

FAERS is a signal-detection tool, not a scorecard. Reports are voluntary, and a single case may list multiple suspect drugs, so numbers above should not be read as incidence rates or per-patient risk. Widely prescribed drugs naturally accumulate more reports than niche therapies even when individual risk is low. These aggregates are useful for spotting patterns that merit further pharmacovigilance, not for choosing between medications. This page is for educational reference only and is not medical advice, speak with a licensed clinician about any side-effect concerns.