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.
Inhalation Aerosol is indicated as a bronchodilator for maintenance treatment of bronchospasm associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema. ATROVENT HFA is an anticholinergic indicated for the maintenance treatment of bronchospasm associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and emphysema ( 1 )
is contraindicated in the following conditions [ see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ]. Hypersensitivity to ipratropium bromide or other ATROVENT HFA components Hypersensitivity to atropine or any of its derivatives Hypersensitivity to ipratropium bromide or other ATROVENT HFA components ( 4 ) Hypersensitivity to atropine or any of its derivatives ( 4 )
Not indicated for the initial treatment of acute episodes of bronchospasm where rescue therapy is required for rapid response ( 5.1 ) Hypersensitivity reactions including anaphylaxis: Discontinue ATROVENT HFA at once and consider alternative treatments ( 5.2 ) Paradoxical bronchospasm: Discontinue ATROVENT HFA and consider other treatments if paradoxical bronchospasm occurs ( 5.3 ) Ocular effects: Use with caution in patients with narrow-angle glaucoma and instruct patients to consult a physician immediately if signs or symptoms of narrow-angle glaucoma develop ( 5.4 ) Urinary retention: Use with caution in patients with prostatic hyperplasia or bladder-neck obstruction and instruct patients to consult a physician immediately if signs or symptoms of urinary retention develop ( 5.5 ) 5.1 Use for Maintenance Treatment Only ATROVENT HFA is a bronchodilator for the maintenance treatment of bronchospasm associated with COPD and is not indicated for the initial treatment of acute episodes of bronchospasm where rescue therapy is required for rapid response. 5.2 Hypersensitivity Reactions, Including Anaphylaxis Hypersensitivity reactions including urticaria, angioedema, rash, bronchospasm,...
The following adverse reactions are described, or described in greater detail, in other sections: Hypersensitivity Reactions, Including Anaphylaxis [ see Contraindications (4) and Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] Paradoxical Bronchospasm [ see Warnings and Precautions (5.3) ] Ocular Effects [ see Warnings and Precautions (5.4) ] Urinary Retention [ see Warnings and Precautions (5.5) ] 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 patients. Most common adverse reactions (>5% incidence in the 12-week placebo-controlled trials) were bronchitis, COPD exacerbation, dyspnea, and headache ( 6.1 ) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. at 1-800-542-6257 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch . 6.1 Clinical Trials Experience The adverse reaction information concerning ATROVENT HFA is derived from two 12-week, double-blind, parallel-group studies and one 1-year open-label, parallel group study. These studies compared ATROVENT H...
Source: FDA SPL label for Atrovent HFA (Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), effective 20251105. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,608 | 3,958 | 3,515 | 2,685 | 1,871 | 2,252 | 2,960 | 1,624 |
2,970 reports blaming this drug for every million Medicare prescriptions filled, which is 1.1× the typical drug on this site. (6,812 reports in 2024–2026, against 2,293,792 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.
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.
| Product | Fills | $/fill |
|---|---|---|
| Ipratropium Bromide | 2,093,538 | $31 |
| Atrovent HFA | 200,254 | $576 |
No same-class alternatives found in RxClass.