Prescription medication · Aminoglycoside Antibiotic
tobramycin
Also sold as Tobi, Nebcin. Tobramycin treats serious infections caused by bacteria.
Data updated 2026-05-15
- 23,287
- FDA reportsModerately reported
- 2
- InteractionsFew interactions
- In shortage
- FDA status
What the data shows
tobramycin (Tobi) is a prescription Aminoglycoside Antibiotic, reported at a middle-of-the-pack volume (23,287 FDA reports), with 2 documented drug interactions.
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.
tobramycin (Tobi) is a prescription Aminoglycoside Antibiotic. Tobramycin treats serious infections caused by bacteria.
Tobramycin is an antibiotic medicine. It fights serious bacterial infections in your body.
Verify with FDA → · CMS NADAC pricing →
Drug Shortage Alert
tobramycin is currently listed as to be discontinued by the FDA. Affected manufacturer: Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc..
View all drug shortages →Drug Pricing (NADAC)
Generic Price
$1.01/unit
Generic Available
Yes (30 manufacturers)
Pricing data from NADAC (CMS), effective December 18, 2024. Compare all drug costs →
What it does
Tobramycin treats serious infections caused by bacteria.
Common side effects
Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea
Key warnings
Tobramycin can potentially damage your hearing and kidneys.
The sections below are summarized in plain English from tobramycin's FDA-approved prescribing information. They describe what the official label says, and are not personal medical advice.
How It Works
Tobramycin belongs to a class of drugs called aminoglycoside antibiotics. It works by stopping the growth of bacteria. This helps your body fight off the infection.
Side Effects (from patient reports)
Based on 23,287 FDA adverse event reports.
Most-reported reactions
Adverse reactions in FAERS for tobramycin, by number of reports
- Death
Death
1,667 reports
- Infective Pulmonary Exacerbation Of Cystic Fibrosis
Infective Pulmonary Exacerbation Of Cystic Fibrosis
1,559 reports
- Pneumonia
Pneumonia
1,453 reports
- Dyspnoea
Dyspnoea
1,373 reports
- Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic Fibrosis
1,263 reports
- Cough
Cough
1,257 reports
- Hospitalisation
Hospitalisation
996 reports
- Condition Aggravated
Condition Aggravated
942 reports
- Infection
Infection
832 reports
- Acute Kidney Injury
Acute Kidney Injury
721 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.
Reports over time
Adverse-event reports filed for tobramycin each year to the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).
Year-to-year volume tracks usage, prescribing, and scrutiny, not a change in per-patient risk. Source: FDA FAERS.
Where tobramycin sits
tobramycin has more FDA adverse-event reports than 58% of the drugs FAERS tracks. A high position reflects how widely a drug is used and watched, not how dangerous it is.
Percentile across all drugs PlainMeds tracks by FAERS report volume. The dot is tobramycin; the line is the median (50th percentile).
FDA Adverse Event Report Analysis
Detailed analysis of 23,287 reports from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Reports span 2002–2025.
Total Reports
23,287
Reports Mentioning Death
2,764
11.9% of reports — not proof of cause
Hospitalization Reports
11,066
Top Indication
Cystic Fibrosis
Gender Distribution
Age Distribution
Most Reported Adverse Reactions (FAERS)
| # | Reaction | Reports |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | DEATH | 1,667 |
| 3 | INFECTIVE PULMONARY EXACERBATION OF CYSTIC FIBROSIS | 1,559 |
| 4 | PNEUMONIA | 1,453 |
| 5 | DYSPNOEA | 1,373 |
| 6 | CYSTIC FIBROSIS | 1,263 |
| 7 | COUGH | 1,257 |
| 8 | HOSPITALISATION | 996 |
| 9 | CONDITION AGGRAVATED | 942 |
| 10 | INFECTION | 832 |
| 12 | ACUTE KIDNEY INJURY | 721 |
| 13 | MALAISE | 675 |
| 14 | PYREXIA | 672 |
| 15 | FATIGUE | 608 |
| 16 | HEADACHE | 543 |
| 17 | PSEUDOMONAS INFECTION | 538 |
Reactions in Death Reports
Reactions in Hospitalization Reports
Source: FDA FAERS (Adverse Event Reporting System) Reports are voluntary and do not establish causation
Serious Warnings
Tobramycin can potentially damage your hearing and kidneys. Tell your doctor if you have kidney problems or hearing loss before starting this medicine. Your doctor will monitor your kidney and hearing function during treatment. Report any dizziness, ringing in the ears, or changes in hearing or kidney function to your doctor right away.
Known Drug Interactions
Nephrotoxic agents Concomitant administration of cidofovir injection and agents with nephrotoxic potential [e.g., intravenous aminoglycosides (e.g., tobramycin, gentamicin, and amikacin), amphotericin B, foscarnet, intravenous pentamidine, vancomycin, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents] is contraindicated.
Mechanism: Both drugs have the potential to damage your kidneys. Taking them together adds to this risk and can lead to kidney failure.
7 DRUG INTERACTIONS • ZOSYN administration can significantly reduce tobramycin concentrations in hemodialysis patients. Monitor tobramycin concentrations in these patients. In vivo inactivation : When aminoglycosides are administered in conjunction with piperacillin to patients with end-stage renal disease requiring hemodialysis, the concentrations of the aminoglycosides (especially tobramycin) may be significantly reduced and should be monitored.
Mechanism: In patients on dialysis, piperacillin can chemically deactivate tobramycin in the blood, making the antibiotic less effective.
This is a plain-language summary of FDA-label interaction records and does not provide individual medication-combination directions.
Common Questions
What should I tell my doctor before taking tobramycin?
How long will I need to take tobramycin?
Can tobramycin interact with other medications?
What tests will be done while I am taking tobramycin?
What are the signs of kidney problems?
What are the signs of hearing problems?
Can tobramycin cause nerve damage?
What if I have cystic fibrosis?
Can tobramycin cause allergic reactions?
When should I call my doctor?
What are the common side effects of tobramycin?
Does tobramycin interact with other medications?
What drug class is tobramycin?
What pregnancy or breastfeeding source fields are listed for tobramycin?
Has tobramycin been recalled?
Is tobramycin currently in shortage?
Active Recalls
CGMP Deviations: Firm went out of business and could no longer continue stability studies.
Akorn, Inc.
CGMP Deviations: Firm went out of business and could no longer continue stability studies.
Akorn, Inc.
CGMP Deviations:
Akorn, Inc.
CGMP Deviations:
Akorn, Inc.
Related Medications in Aminoglycoside Antibiotic
Other drugs grouped near tobramycin - same-class peers and common alternatives.
amikacin
Amikin
Amikacin is an antibiotic medicine.
Compare with tobramycin →
amoxicillin
Amoxil
Amoxicillin and Clavulanate Potassium is a combination medicine used to fight bacterial infections.
Compare with tobramycin →
amoxicillin/clavulanate
Augmentin
Augmentin is a combination of two medicines, amoxicillin and clavulanate.
Compare with tobramycin →
ampicillin/sulbactam
Unasyn
Unasyn is a combination of two antibiotics that fights bacteria in your body.
Compare with tobramycin →
azithromycin
Zithromax, Z-Pack
Azithromycin is an antibiotic that fights bacteria.
Compare with tobramycin →
Compare beyond drug class
Nationwide peers by FAERS volume & death-report share
Two PlainMeds-derived comparison paths for tobramycin: nearest FDA FAERS report volume and nearest death-report share among drugs with at least 1,000 logged reports, excluding same-class neighbors listed above. Counts reflect reporting volume, not proven individual harm.
Similar FAERS report volume
Nearest drugs by total FAERS reports. This record: 23,287.
Similar death-report share
Nearest drugs by FAERS death-report share. This record: 11.87%.
- exemestane Δ 0.01 pts · 20,856 reports · Aromatase Inhibitor (Steroidal) 11.88%death share
- clonidine Δ 0.01 pts · 49,370 reports · Central Alpha-2 Agonist 11.86%death share
- zolpidem Δ 0.05 pts · 131,653 reports · Non-Benzodiazepine Hypnotic (Z-Drug) 11.92%death share
- cefuroxime Δ 0.07 pts · 11,087 reports · Second-Generation Cephalosporin 11.94%death share
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 tobramycin
The FDA label for tobramycin (sold under brand names such as Tobi, Nebcin) classifies it as a prescription-only medication in the Aminoglycoside Antibiotic class. Tobramycin treats serious infections caused by bacteria. Official labeling lists 11 commonly reported side effects, including Nausea, Vomiting, Diarrhea.
Post-market surveillance from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) captures real-world experience. For this drug, FAERS contains 23,287 voluntary reports. The database also lists 2 documented drug interactions derived from FDA labeling, with the top-flagged interaction rated major severity. NADAC pricing from CMS shows a generic unit cost of $1.01.
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 (currently 4 recall records on file), 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). Shortage status: FDA Drug Shortages Database.
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: February 27, 2023
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