This grade answers one narrow question: how strong is the public evidence and safety record behind this drug, and how clean is its money trail and court record? It is not a verdict on whether the drug is right for you.
Listed on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines: a global expert panel judged it among the medicines a health system should always have, on evidence of value, not marketing.
INDICATIONS AND USAGE Hydrochlorothiazide tablets, USP are indicated as adjunctive therapy in edema associated with congestive heart failure, hepatic cirrhosis, and corticosteroid and estrogen therapy. Hydrochlorothiazide tablets, USP have also been found useful in edema due to various forms of renal dysfunction such as nephrotic syndrome, acute glomerulonephritis, and chronic renal failure. Hydrochlorothiazide tablets, USP are indicated in the management of hypertension either as the sole therapeutic agent or to enhance the effectiveness of other antihypertensive drugs in the more severe forms of hypertension. Use in Pregnancy Routine use of diuretics during normal pregnancy is inappropriate and exposes mother and fetus to unnecessary hazard. Diuretics do not prevent development of toxemia of pregnancy and there is no satisfactory evidence that they are useful in the treatment of toxemia. Edema during pregnancy may arise from pathologic causes or from the physiologic and mechanical consequences of pregnancy. Thiazides are indicated in pregnancy when edema is due to pathologic causes, just as they are in the absence of pregnancy (see PRECAUTIONS, Pregnancy ). Dependent edema in pre...
CONTRAINDICATIONS Anuria. Hypersensitivity to this product or to other sulfonamide-derived drugs.
WARNINGS Use with caution in severe renal disease. In patients with renal disease, thiazides may precipitate azotemia. Cumulative effects of the drug may develop in patients with impaired renal function. Thiazides should be used with caution in patients with impaired hepatic function or progressive liver disease, since minor alterations of fluid and electrolyte balance may precipitate hepatic coma. Thiazides may add to or potentiate the action of other antihypertensive drugs. Sensitivity reactions may occur in patients with or without a history of allergy or bronchial asthma. The possibility of exacerbation or activation of systemic lupus erythematosus has been reported. Lithium generally should not be given with diuretics (see PRECAUTIONS, Drug Interactions ). Acute Myopia and Secondary Angle-Closure Glaucoma Hydrochlorothiazide, a sulfonamide, can cause an idiosyncratic reaction, resulting in acute transient myopia and acute angle-closure glaucoma. Symptoms include acute onset of decreased visual acuity or ocular pain and typically occur within hours to weeks of drug initiation. Untreated acute angle-closure glaucoma can lead to permanent vision loss. The primary treatment is to ...
ADVERSE REACTIONS The following adverse reactions have been reported and, within each category, are listed in the order of decreasing severity. Body as a Whole Weakness. Cardiovascular Hypotension including orthostatic hypotension (may be aggravated by alcohol, barbiturates, narcotics or antihypertensive drugs). Digestive Pancreatitis, jaundice (intrahepatic cholestatic jaundice), diarrhea, vomiting, sialadenitis, cramping, constipation, gastric irritation, nausea, anorexia. Hematologic Aplastic anemia, agranulocytosis, leukopenia, hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia. Hypersensitivity Anaphylactic reactions, necrotizing angiitis (vasculitis and cutaneous vasculitis), respiratory distress including pneumonitis and pulmonary edema, photosensitivity, fever, urticaria, rash, purpura. Metabolic Electrolyte imbalance (see PRECAUTIONS ), hyperglycemia, glycosuria, hyperuricemia. Musculoskeletal Muscle spasm. Nervous System/Psychiatric Vertigo, paresthesias, dizziness, headache, restlessness. Renal Renal failure, renal dysfunction, interstitial nephritis (see WARNINGS ). Skin Erythema multiforme including Stevens-Johnson syndrome, exfoliative dermatitis including toxic epidermal necrolysis,...
Source: FDA SPL label for Hydrochlorothiazide (Aurobindo Pharma Limited), effective 20240626. Full label on DailyMed.
These are counts of reports people filed, not rates of harm. Anyone can file one, and nobody checks whether the drug was the cause. Millions of doses are taken for every report sent, so the useful part is how this drug compares with the average across all drugs.
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13,882 | 12,569 | 10,774 | 9,072 | 8,237 | 7,797 | 7,908 | 3,717 |
1,035 reports blaming this drug for every million Medicare prescriptions filled, which is 0.4× the typical drug on this site. (19,116 reports in 2024–2026, against 18,462,765 Medicare fills in one year. This is the one number here that accounts for how many people take the drug.)
Source: the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Reports are voluntary and unverified. Drugs that are prescribed a lot, in the news, or in lawsuits attract more reports, so the percentages are compared with the whole database to correct for that partly, not fully.
| Date | Class | Firm | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08/2018 | Class I | Accord Healthcare, Inc. | Product Mix-Up: customer complaint that a sealed bottle labeled as Hydrochlorothiazide Tablets USP 12.5 mg contained only Spironolactone Tablets USP 25 mg. |
| 07/2015 | Class II | Unichem Pharmaceuticals Usa Inc | Presence of Foreign Tablet: A pharmacist found a clopidogrel tablet in the 1000-count bottle of hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg tablets. |
Class I = reasonable probability of serious harm. Class II = temporary or reversible harm. Class III = unlikely to harm. Most generic recalls are manufacturing or labeling defects for one lot, not a verdict on the molecule.
Counts measure how much evidence exists and how transparent it is, not how big the benefit is. For that, ask your prescriber: if 100 people like me took this, how many would get better because of it, and how many would be harmed? (Doctors call these the "number needed to treat" and "number needed to harm.") It differs by condition and is the number drug ads leave out. Sources: PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov.
In 2024, drug companies reported $0 in payments to US physicians and hospitals tied to this drug across 0 transactions.
No pending federal MDL names this drug or its brands.
Not named in any federal pharmaceutical settlement of $100M or more on record.
Sources: CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act); Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation pending docket list; DOJ settlements as tabulated on Wikipedia with links to the primary record. State-court and individual suits are not included.
Same ATC pharmacological class, graded ones first, best grade at the top. Being in the same class does not make them interchangeable for your condition; it makes them worth asking about.