Prescription medication · Short-Acting Muscarinic Antagonist (SAMA)
ipratropium
Also sold as Atrovent. Ipratropium treats chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Data updated 2026-05-15
- 27,303
- FDA reports
- 99% less
- Generic vs brandHuge savings
- $35.12
- Brand price (NADAC)
What the data shows
ipratropium (Atrovent) is a prescription Short-Acting Muscarinic Antagonist (SAMA), with 27,303 FDA adverse-event reports on file, whose generic costs a fraction of the brand (about 99% less).
Reporting volume reflects how widely a drug is used and studied, not how dangerous it is, a FAERS report documents a temporal association, never proof of cause.
ipratropium (Atrovent) is a prescription Short-Acting Muscarinic Antagonist (SAMA). Ipratropium treats chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Ipratropium is a medicine that helps you breathe easier. It relaxes the muscles in your airways.
Verify with FDA → · CMS NADAC pricing →
Drug Pricing (NADAC)
Brand Price
$35.12/unit
Generic Price
$0.51/unit
Generic Savings
99%
Generic Available
Yes (21 manufacturers)
Pricing data from NADAC (CMS), effective December 18, 2024. Compare all drug costs →
What it does
Ipratropium treats chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Common side effects
Cough, Headache, Nausea
Key warnings
Tell your doctor right away if you have eye pain, blurred vision, or see halos around lights.
The sections below are summarized in plain English from ipratropium's FDA-approved prescribing information. They describe what the official label says, and are not personal medical advice.
How It Works
Ipratropium blocks a substance in your body that can tighten your airways. By blocking this substance, the muscles around your airways relax. This allows more air to flow in and out of your lungs.
Side Effects (from patient reports)
Based on 27,303 FDA adverse event reports.
Most-reported reactions
Adverse reactions in FAERS for ipratropium, by number of reports
- Difficulty breathing
Difficulty breathing
5,829 reports
- Asthma
Asthma
3,910 reports
- Pneumonia
Pneumonia
3,024 reports
- Cough
Cough
2,906 reports
- Wheezing
Wheezing
2,586 reports
- Tiredness 2,130
Tiredness
2,130 reports
- Feeling sick to your stomach 1,903
Feeling sick to your stomach
1,903 reports
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease 1,770
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
1,770 reports
- Feeling unwell 1,642
Feeling unwell
1,642 reports
- Throwing up 1,603
Throwing up
1,603 reports
What this shows Bars show how often each reaction was reported, not how likely it is to happen, a report records a temporal association, never proof that the drug caused it.
Serious Warnings
Tell your doctor right away if you have eye pain, blurred vision, or see halos around lights. Ipratropium can make these problems worse. It can also cause new or worsened glaucoma.
Common Questions
What should I avoid while taking ipratropium?
Can ipratropium interact with other medications?
How long does it take for ipratropium to work?
Can I use ipratropium for sudden breathing problems?
What are the symptoms of an allergic reaction to ipratropium?
Can ipratropium cause constipation?
Does ipratropium affect my ability to drive?
Can I drink alcohol while taking ipratropium?
How often can I use ipratropium?
What should I do if ipratropium does not seem to be working?
What are the common side effects of ipratropium?
What drug class is ipratropium?
Is there a generic version of ipratropium?
What pregnancy or breastfeeding source fields are listed for ipratropium?
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Medication Guides
Understanding Drug Interactions
How CYP450 enzymes, inhibitors, and inducers affect your medications
Generic vs Brand Name Drugs
FDA requirements, cost savings, and when the difference matters
Narrow Therapeutic Index Drugs
FDA bioequivalence and label-record context for narrow therapeutic index medicines
Common Drug Interactions
Dangerous medication combinations and how to protect yourself
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What the FDA Data Shows for ipratropium
The FDA label for ipratropium (sold under brand names such as Atrovent) classifies it as a prescription-only medication in the Short-Acting Muscarinic Antagonist (SAMA) class. Ipratropium treats chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Official labeling lists 4 commonly reported side effects, including Cough, Headache, Nausea.
Post-market surveillance from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) captures real-world experience. For this drug, FAERS contains 27,303 voluntary reports. Interaction data is drawn directly from FDA-approved prescribing information. NADAC pricing from CMS shows a generic unit cost of $0.51 versus $35.12 for the brand - a 99% generic savings.
Report counts do not establish causation, a FAERS entry documents a temporal association, not proof that the drug produced the outcome. Widely prescribed medications naturally accumulate more reports than niche therapies, so raw totals must be interpreted alongside total exposure. Shortage status, recall history, and patent information are separate source-record fields. This page is a public FDA/CMS registry and does not provide medical, treatment, substitution, or medication-change directions.
Data Sources
Drug labeling: FDA Drug Labels (SPL/DailyMed). Adverse events: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Pricing: CMS National Average Drug Acquisition Cost (NADAC).
FAERS reports are voluntary and do not establish causation. Drug interactions are derived from FDA labeling and clinical references. This registry does not provide medication decisions.
Last updated: July 1, 2022
PlainMeds is rendered directly from FDA openFDA/FAERS extracts, DailyMed labels, and CMS drug-pricing files, no number is typed in by an editor. FAERS counts, recalls, shortages, and price figures on this page are queried live from those federal extracts. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-05-15. Primary sources: openFDA / FAERS, DailyMed and CMS Part B ASP.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Data currency: FDA FAERS adverse-event reports through 2025, CMS NADAC acquisition-cost pricing effective December 2024, compiled from the source snapshot dated . See our methodology for per-source dates and refresh cadence. Spot a figure that looks wrong? Report a data issue.
All federal data sources used on this page
- FDA Orange Book - approved drug products with therapeutic equivalence. accessdata.fda.gov/cder/ob
- FDA DailyMed - NIH-hosted drug labeling for FDA-approved meds. dailymed.nlm.nih.gov
- FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) - post-marketing safety surveillance. fda.gov/drugs/faers
- NLM RxNorm - standardized clinical drug nomenclature. nlm.nih.gov/research/umls/rxnorm
- CMS Medicare Part B Drug Average Sales Price Files - federal drug pricing data. cms.gov/medicare/part-b-drugs/asp
- FDA Drug Shortages Database - current and resolved drug shortage tracking. accessdata.fda.gov/drugshortages