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This page presents data from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) and the FDA-approved drug label. A report submitted to FAERS does not prove a drug caused the reported event. Always consult a healthcare provider about medications.

Zoledronic Acid

Last updated: June 18, 2026
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Zoledronic Acid is a medication. According to the FDA-approved label, Zoledronic acid injection is a bisphosphonate indicated for the treatment of: Hypercalcemia of malignancy. (1.1) Patients with multiple myeloma and patients with documented bone metastases from solid tumors, in conjunction with standard antineoplastic therapy. FAERS contains 39,017 submissions naming this drug from 2003 through 2026; the top three reactions cited are arthralgia, pain, and pyrexia.

Most-Reported Reactions

Counts of the reactions most often cited in FAERS submissions that named Zoledronic Acid. Inclusion here does not establish causation - submitters describe what was observed, not what was confirmed. One submission can list several reactions, so the totals exceed the report count.

ARTHRALGIA 3,143 (8.1%) PAIN 3,088 (7.9%) PYREXIA 2,754 (7.1%) NAUSEA 2,736 (7.0%) FATIGUE 2,707 (6.9%) OSTEONECROSIS OF JAW 2,654 (6.8%) DEATH 2,467 (6.3%) HEADACHE 2,323 (6.0%) DIARRHOEA 2,223 (5.7%) VOMITING 2,018 (5.2%) ASTHENIA 1,931 (4.9%) MYALGIA 1,831 (4.7%) OFF LABEL USE 1,707 (4.4%) PAIN IN EXTREMITY 1,647 (4.2%) DYSPNOEA 1,615 (4.1%)

Patient Demographics

Patient sex and age across the FAERS submissions that named Zoledronic Acid. Percentages here are computed only from submissions where these fields were filled in - many leave them blank.

By Sex

Female Male Unknown

By Age Group

0-17 18-44 45-64 65+

Severity Outcomes

Severity flags recorded across the 39,017 FAERS submissions that named Zoledronic Acid. Each bar shows the count of those reports carrying that flag. A single case can carry more than one (a hospitalization that became life-threatening, for example), so these bars are independent rates - they don't sum to 100%. Inclusion of a case under any flag does not establish that the drug caused the outcome.

DEATH 5,059 (13.0%) HOSPITALIZATION 11,257 (28.9%) LIFE-THREATENING 1,678 (4.3%) DISABLING 1,981 (5.1%)

Submissions Per Quarter

Quarterly count of FAERS submissions that named Zoledronic Acid. Ups and downs on this chart can track prescribing volume, news cycles, or shifts in how reports get filed, rather than the drug becoming safer or more dangerous.

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026

From the FDA-Approved Label

Excerpts from the official FDA-approved prescribing information for Zoledronic Acid. This is the authoritative source on indications, warnings, and known adverse reactions.

Indications

1 INDICATIONS AND USAGE Zoledronic acid injection is a bisphosphonate indicated for the treatment of: Hypercalcemia of malignancy. (1.1) Patients with multiple myeloma and patients with documented bone metastases from solid tumors, in conjunction with standard antineoplastic therapy. Prostate cancer should have progressed after treatment with at least one hormonal therapy. (1.2) Limitations of Use : The safety and efficacy of zoledronic acid injection has not been established for use in hyperparathyroidism or non-tumor-related hypercalcemia. 1.1 Hypercalcemia of Malignancy Zoledronic acid injection is indicated for the treatment of hypercalcemia of malignancy defined as an albumin-corrected calcium (cCa) of greater than or equal to 12 mg/dL [3.0 mmol/L] using the formula: cCa in mg/dL=Ca in mg/dL + 0.8 ( 4.0 g/dL - patient albumin [g/dL]). 1.2 Multiple Myeloma and Bone Metastases of Solid Tumors Zoledronic acid injection is indicated for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma and patients with documented bone metastases from solid tumors, in conjunction with standard antineoplastic therapy. (continues in label)

Adverse Reactions (from label)

6 ADVERSE REACTIONS The most common adverse events (greater than 25%) were nausea, fatigue, anemia, bone pain, constipation, fever, vomiting, and dyspnea ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Avet Pharmaceuticals Inc. at 1-866-901-DRUG (3784) or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch . 6.1 Clinical Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions, adverse reaction rates observed in the clinical trials of a drug cannot be directly compared to rates in the clinical trials of another drug and may not reflect the rates observed in practice. Hypercalcemia of Malignancy The safety of zoledronic acid injection was studied in 185 patients with hypercalcemia of malignancy (HCM) who received either zoledronic acid injection 4 mg given as a 5-minute intravenous infusion (n=86) or pamidronate 90 mg given as a 2-hour intravenous infusion (n=103). The population was aged 33 to 84 years, 60% male and 81% Caucasian, with breast, lung, head and neck, and renal cancer as the most common forms of malignancy. NOTE: pamidronate 90 mg was given as a 2-hour intravenous infusion. (continues in label)

FDA label effective date: 2023-09-18

Disclaimer

AdverseEvent.ai is not affiliated with the FDA. Adverse-event counts come from the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Drug labels come from the FDA drug label dataset. A report submitted to FAERS does not prove a drug caused the reported event — always consult a healthcare provider about medications. This site is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice.