Aminophylline: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Aminophylline is a medicine sold in the U.S. under 2 brand and generic names. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Available as
- Injectable · Solution · Enema
- Sold as
- 2 products — Aminophylline and Somophyllin
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
Every aminophylline product we track (2)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → | |
| 2 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Solution | No data | — | View → |
How long aminophylline keeps
No aminophylline label we read sets a separate limit for after opening, but they do specify how it must be stored — and the stability behind any date assumes those conditions.
Aminophylline and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for aminophylline: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadAn expert panel considers use of aminophylline to be acceptable during breastfeeding. Maternal aminophylline use may occasionally cause stimulation and irritability and fretful sleep in infants. Newborn and especially preterm infants are most likely to be affected because of their slow elimination and low serum protein binding of theophylline. There is no need to avoid aminophylline products; however, keep maternal serum theophylline concentrations in the lower part of the therapeutic range and monitor the infant for signs of theophylline side effects. Infant serum theophylline concentrations can help to determine if signs of agitation are due to theophylline. Avoiding breastfeeding for 2 hours after intravenous or 4 hours after an immediate-release oral aminophylline product can decrease the dose received by the breastfed infant.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised May 15, 2024. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about aminophylline
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 2,324 reports naming aminophylline, and the FDA flagged 95% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- dyspnoea485 reports
- vomiting416 reports
- asthma415 reports
- pneumonia384 reports
- wheezing334 reports
- drug hypersensitivity321 reports
- oedema313 reports
- malaise204 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean aminophylline caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved August 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
Can you take aminophylline with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run aminophylline against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is aminophylline sold under?
We track 2 aminophylline-containing products in the U.S.: Aminophylline and Somophyllin. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does aminophylline come in?
Across the brands we track, aminophylline is currently marketed as injectable, solution and enema, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic aminophylline?
Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic aminophylline product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Aminophylline: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/aminophylline
- MLA
- “Aminophylline: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/aminophylline.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for aminophylline on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.