Acetazolamide
Brand names: Acetazolamide, Acetazolamide Er
At a glance
- Medicare prescriptions, 2024
- 149,642
- Medicare drug cost
- $6.8M
- Average cost per prescription
- $45.44
- Clinicians who prescribed it
- 5,737
Where it is prescribed
List the prescribers in any state, county, city or ZIP code →
What it is used for
For adjunctive treatment of: edema due to congestive heart failure; drug-induced edema; centrencephalic epilepsies (petit mal, unlocalized seizures); chronic simple (open-angle) glaucoma, secondary glaucoma, and preoperatively in acute angle-closure glaucoma where delay of surgery is desired in order to lower intraocular pressure. Acetazolamide Tablets are also indicated for the prevention or amelioration of symptoms associated with acute mountain sickness in climbers attempting rapid ascent and in those who are very susceptible to acute mountain sickness despite gradual ascent.
From the FDA-approved prescribing information (label dated August 2026). Full labels on DailyMed (opens in a new tab)
Who prescribes it
- Ophthalmology 53.9%
- Internal Medicine 10.1%
- Neurology 8.4%
- Family Medicine 8.0%
- Nurse Practitioners 6.0%
- ENT (Otolaryngology) 2.0%
- Physician Assistants 1.9%
- Optometrists 1.8%
- Retina Specialist 1.4%
- Geriatric Medicine 1.2%
- Pulmonology 0.9%
- Nephrology (Kidney) 0.7%
All prescribers, by place, name or specialty →
Share of Medicare prescriptions written by each specialty. Select one to list its prescribers.
Trend, 2019–2024
Medicare prescriptions rose 6% from 2019 to 2024.
Biggest change by state since 2019
- Virginia +25%
- Michigan +12%
- Illinois +12%
- Florida +10%
- California +9%
- Wisconsin (smallest change) −15%
- Georgia (smallest change) −4%
From CMS’s yearly state and national Part D summaries, which count every prescriber, including those CMS leaves out of its per-clinician data (fewer than 11 prescriptions). That is why these totals are higher than the count at the top of this page. Prescriptions include refills.
What it looks like
Pills from 3 makers on file. The same medicine can look different depending on who made it, so check the imprint (the letters and numbers on the pill) with your pharmacist if a refill looks different.
Ajanta Pharma USA Inc.
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 125 mg | white round tablet, 9 mm, scored to split in 2 | A3 |
| 250 mg | white round tablet, 11 mm, scored to split in 4 | A4 |
Lifestar Pharma LLC
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 125 mg | white round tablet, 9 mm, scored to split in 2 | LS 720 |
| 250 mg | white round tablet, 11 mm, scored to split in 4 | LS 721 |
Strides Pharma Science Limited
| Strength | Looks like | Imprint |
|---|---|---|
| 125 mg | white round tablet, 9 mm, scored to split in 2 | S 571 |
| 250 mg | white round tablet, 11 mm, scored to split in 4 | S 572 |
Source: DailyMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine), from each maker’s FDA drug listing. A few makers are shown, not every one. Never take a pill you can’t identify; ask a pharmacist.
Industry payments about this drug
No industry payments to clinicians named this drug in 2025.
Recalls and shortages
Not on the FDA drug shortage list.
2 recalls since 2020
- Aug 2024 · Rubicon Research Private Limited · Class III
Discoloration - Mar 2021 · Cardinal Health Inc. · Class II
CGMP Deviations: Intermittent exposure to temperature excursion during storage.
Recalls usually affect specific lots from one maker, not every version of a drug. Class I is the most serious; most drug recalls are Class II. FDA recalls (opens in a new tab)
Sources: CMS Medicare Part D Prescribers by Provider and Drug (2024; prescriptions include refills, and CMS hides counts under 11 per prescriber); U.S. Food and Drug Administration, openFDA (drug labels, NDC directory, enforcement reports, drug shortages); CMS Open Payments 2025; ClinicalTrials.gov. General information only, not medical advice; not yet reviewed by our medical reviewer.