/openfda/drug/events/search

POST /api/openfda/drug/events/search

Price: 5 credits

Search FDA FAERS drug adverse-event reports by drug, reaction, seriousness, sex and date

How to use it

Search the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Combine a free-text keyword with structured filters — medicinal product, suspect drug generic or brand name, reported reaction (MedDRA term), the serious flag, death outcome, patient sex, country of occurrence and a received-date range. Each result is a full FAERS safety report (same shape as the events endpoint).

Parameters

• access-token string required

Request body

• timeout integer — Max scrapping execution timeout (in seconds) (default: 300; min: 20; max: 1500)
• keyword string nullable — Free-text query across all report fields (examples: "nausea")
• medicinal_product string nullable — Reported medicinal product name (examples: "BONIVA")
• generic_name string nullable — Suspect drug generic name (examples: "ibandronate")
• brand_name string nullable — Suspect drug brand name (examples: "Boniva")
• reaction string nullable — Reported reaction (MedDRA preferred term) (examples: "Headache")
• serious boolean nullable — Only serious (or non-serious) reports
• seriousness_death boolean nullable — Only reports where the outcome was death
• sex string nullable — Patient sex (one of: "Male", "Female")
• country string nullable — Country where the event occurred (examples: "US")
• received_from string nullable — Report received date from (YYYY-MM-DD); requires received_to
• received_to string nullable — Report received date to (YYYY-MM-DD); requires received_from
• count integer required — Number of adverse-event reports to return (min: 1)

Response

• @type string (default: "OpenfdaDrugEvent")
• safetyreportid string required
• safetyreportversion string nullable
• serious boolean (default: false)
• seriousness array (default: [])
• received_at integer nullable
• receipt_at integer nullable
• transmission_at integer nullable
• report_type string nullable
• fulfill_expedite_criteria string nullable
• company_number string nullable
• occur_country string nullable
• primary_source_country string nullable
• reporter_country string nullable
• reporter_qualification string nullable
• sender_organization string nullable
• patient object nullable
  • @type string (default: "OpenfdaEventPatient")
  • onset_age string nullable
  • onset_age_unit string nullable
  • sex string nullable
  • weight string nullable
  • reactions array (default: [])
    • @type string (default: "OpenfdaEventReaction")
    • term string required
    • outcome string nullable
  • drugs array (default: [])
    • @type string (default: "OpenfdaEventDrug")
    • medicinal_product string nullable
    • characterization string nullable
    • indication string nullable
    • administration_route string nullable
    • authorization_number string nullable
    • dosage_text string nullable
    • start_at integer nullable
    • openfda object nullable
      • @type string (default: "OpenfdaBlock")
      • application_number array (default: [])
      • brand_name array (default: [])
      • generic_name array (default: [])
      • manufacturer_name array (default: [])
      • product_ndc array (default: [])
      • package_ndc array (default: [])
      • product_type array (default: [])
      • route array (default: [])
      • substance_name array (default: [])
      • rxcui array (default: [])
      • unii array (default: [])
      • spl_id array (default: [])
      • spl_set_id array (default: [])
      • nui array (default: [])
      • pharm_class_cs array (default: [])
      • pharm_class_epc array (default: [])
      • pharm_class_moa array (default: [])
      • pharm_class_pe array (default: [])
      • is_original_packager array (default: [])
      • device_class string nullable
      • device_name string nullable
      • medical_specialty_description string nullable
      • regulation_number string nullable
      • fei_number array (default: [])
      • registration_number array (default: [])
      • k_number array (default: [])
      • pma_number array (default: [])

Errors

• 422 — The request body did not validate Check the fields against this schema. A URN with the wrong prefix is the most common cause.
• 408 — The request ran past its time limit Raise `timeout` in the request body, up to the maximum this endpoint documents. Lowering `count` or turning off the `with_*` flags also helps, because less work finishes sooner.
• 412 — The entity was not found, or a precondition failed Retrying will not help: either the entity does not exist, or the input points at a different one.
• 429 — Too many requests: a rate limit or a usage window is exhausted When the response carries an X-Retry-After header, wait that many seconds and retry: the same number is in the body as `detail.retry_after`, and the limit clears once that window passes. The message in the body names the limit that was hit.
• 500 — Something broke on our side Retrying will not help. If it keeps happening, send us the X-Request-ID from the response headers.
• 529 — Rate limit reached, or the endpoint is overloaded Wait at least 30 seconds, then retry.

Response headers

• X-Error — Error message text (present only on error)
• X-Request-ID — Unique request identifier
• X-Execution-Time — Execution time in seconds
• X-Result-Count — How many records the body carries. 0 means an empty result, which is a normal answer and not by itself an error. A non-zero count can come back together with X-Error when the failure happened partway through — read this header and X-Error independently.
• X-Total-Available-Results — How many records exist for this query, when the endpoint can say. On a `dry_run` request this is the answer and the body is empty. It saturates: the endpoint's documented maximum means 'at least that many', any smaller number is exact.
• X-Warning — Present when the request body carried keys this endpoint does not document. They were ignored, so any filter you meant to apply through them did not apply. Check the spelling against this schema and retry.
• X-Retry-After — Seconds to wait before retrying. Present only on 429.