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PlainMeds drug rankings

Drugs with Most Death-Associated Reports

All tracked drugs ranked by FAERS reports where death was a reported outcome.

Data updated 2026-05-15

522
Drugs ranked
60,624
Top: Furosemide
13,944
#50: Acyclovir

In the Drugs with Most Death-Associated Reports ranking, Furosemide is #1 at 60,624 (Death Reports), out of 522 ranked drugs.

All tracked drugs ranked by FAERS reports where death was a reported outcome. Furosemide leads at 60,624, then Acetaminophen at 58,910. Every value is compiled live from official FDA and CMS records; see the methodology for how each figure is sourced and what it does and does not mean.

Verify with FDA → · CMS NADAC pricing →

What This Ranking Tells Us

These rankings show drugs with the most FAERS reports where death was listed as an outcome. This data requires careful interpretation: a death report does not mean the drug caused the death. Patients on these medications are often critically ill with serious underlying conditions. Many commonly prescribed drugs appear because they are given to large, sick populations. Mortality rates per prescription would provide better safety signals but cannot be derived from FAERS data alone.

Top 12 by Death Reports

All tracked drugs ranked by FAERS reports where death was a reported outcome.

Death Reports

What this shows furosemide leads at 60,624, ahead of acetaminophen and oxycodone.

Source FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS)

The bar to make this list: a drug needs 13,944 death reports to rank in the top 50 of 522.

# Drug Death Reports
1 furosemide 60,624
2 acetaminophen 58,910
3 oxycodone 51,490
4 prednisone 50,090
5 aspirin 47,820
6 dexamethasone 46,323
7 gabapentin 33,007
8 alprazolam 32,899
9 methotrexate 32,502
10 omeprazole 30,378
11 adalimumab 28,962
12 metformin 28,446
13 amlodipine 28,135
14 metoprolol 27,931
15 hydromorphone 27,836
16 prednisolone 27,831
17 fentanyl 27,119
18 pantoprazole 27,099
19 quetiapine 26,984
20 rivaroxaban 26,830
21 buprenorphine 25,836
22 denosumab 25,105
23 lorazepam 25,012
24 lisinopril 24,562
25 diazepam 22,544
26 folic acid 22,144
27 methylprednisolone 21,966
28 simvastatin 21,913
29 ergocalciferol 21,613
30 clozapine 21,448
31 clopidogrel 21,408
32 allopurinol 21,323
33 pregabalin 21,160
34 tapentadol 20,529
35 morphine 19,827
36 levothyroxine 19,579
37 lansoprazole 19,347
38 citalopram 18,674
39 atorvastatin 18,385
40 clonazepam 18,179
41 spironolactone 17,638
42 ibuprofen 17,491
43 etanercept 16,504
44 warfarin 15,949
45 carvedilol 15,919
46 zolpidem 15,695
47 potassium chloride 15,552
48 ranitidine 15,440
49 cyclosporine 13,961
50 acyclovir 13,944

Primary source: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Supplementary labeling: FDA Drug Labels (SPL). These rankings are for informational purposes only and should not be used to make medical decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a death report mean the drug killed someone?

No. A FAERS death report means someone died while taking or after taking a drug, but causation is not established. Patients taking these medications often have serious conditions (cancer, heart failure, autoimmune diseases) that independently carry high mortality. The drug may have been a coincidental factor.

Why do pain medications appear high on this list?

Opioid pain medications like oxycodone and fentanyl carry inherent overdose risks, and their reports often reflect actual drug-related deaths. But other drugs on the list, like blood thinners and chemotherapy agents, are prescribed to patients who are already at high risk of death from their underlying conditions.

Reading the Drugs with Most Death-Associated Reports

This table ranks 50 drugs by death reports, sourced from FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). The current leader is furosemide at 60,624, followed by acetaminophen and oxycodone. Each row links to a full drug profile so readers can move from headline number to the underlying FDA data, labeling, FAERS reports, recalls, pricing, and shortage status, that explains why a particular drug sits where it does.

These rankings show drugs with the most FAERS reports where death was listed as an outcome. This data requires careful interpretation: a death report does not mean the drug caused the death. Patients on these medications are often critically ill with serious underlying conditions. Many commonly prescribed drugs appear because they are given to large, sick populations. Mortality rates per prescription would provide better safety signals but cannot be derived from FAERS data alone.

Rankings are diagnostic, not prescriptive. Absolute numbers are shaped by exposure volume, reporting practices, and data-collection methodology, so a drug near the top is not automatically "worse" than a drug near the bottom, it may simply be older, more widely prescribed, or manufactured by firms with more visible reporting. Context from FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) updates continuously, which means the relative order here can change from one refresh to the next. Rankings on this page are for educational research only and must not be used as a substitute for medical advice from a licensed clinician.

Explore More Rankings

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Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Source: FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS)

See our methodology for 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 and last refreshed May 2026. See our methodology for per-source dates and refresh cadence. Spot a figure that looks wrong? Report a correction.