Drug profile

The FDA adverse-event record for Betamethasone

17 FDA reports name Betamethasone, a lower-volume drug in the CVM extract. Species, reactions, and outcomes follow.

#1940 of 2,679
by report volume (all drugs)
17
adverse-event reports
11.8%
death-coded share
Horse
most-reported species
Verify with FDA CVM →

Corpus placement

According to the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine openFDA adverse-event extract, Betamethasone ranks #1937 of 2679 by total reports (17). Death-coded-share rank requires at least 50 reports. National dual: Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad is #1 of 2679 drugs by total adverse-event reports (149,624) at death-coded-share rank 965 of 1130 drugs with at least 50 reports (2.3%); separately, Atlantic Salmon Transgenic Whole (Opafp-Ghc2 Rdna Construct Inserted Into The A-Locus In The Eo-1A Lineage) is #1 highest death-coded share at 97.8% (report rank #821).

149,624
Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad reports (#1)
97.8%
Atlantic Salmon Transgenic Whole (Opafp-Ghc2 Rdna Construct Inserted Into The A-Locus In The Eo-1A Lineage) death share (#1)
#1937
This drug, reports of 2679

Report volume reflects how common a breed or drug is and how often owners and vets file — not actual risk. Death-coded share ranks are limited to entries with enough reports to be meaningful. The two maps do not agree at #1.

Release-over-release change

What changed in the latest FDA data snapshot

PlainBreed reconstructed the prior snapshot from dated openFDA partitions through 2025 Q4, then compared it with the 2026-07-27 openFDA export. Betamethasone has 17 reports now versus 17 in that prior snapshot: 0 the same number of (0.0%).

Report change
+0
Death-coded reports
+0
Death-coded share
+0.0 pts

This compares reported-event counts in two source snapshots. It does not establish a change in real-world risk, product safety, or disease incidence.

Subscribe to Betamethasone changes

Signature read: 17 reports place Betamethasone in the lower third of FDA AER volume (#1940 of 2,679).

Important: Adverse event reports do not establish that a drug caused or contributed to the event. Consult your veterinarian before making treatment decisions.
17
Total Reports
2
Deaths Reported
11.8%
Death-coded share of reports

Active Ingredients

Betamethasone

Administration Routes

Intra-ArticularUnknownSubcutaneous

Species Affected

Horse 11
Dog 3
Cat 2
Other 1

Most Affected Breeds

Quarter Horse 2
Horse (unknown) 2
Domestic Shorthair 2
Shih Tzu 2
Warmblood - Dutch 2
Trakehner 2
Pinto 1
Paint 1
Terrier - Jack Russell 1
Unknown 1

Most Reported Reactions

Polyuria 4
Hives (see also Skin) 4
Colic 3
Polydipsia 3
Not eating 3
Neutrophilia 3
Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 3
Elevated aspartate aminotransferase (AST) 3
Elevated creatine-kinase (CK) 3
Abnormal ultrasound finding 3
Lameness 2
Swollen limb 2

Outcome Breakdown

Recovered/Normal
6 (35.3%)
Ongoing
5 (29.4%)
Outcome Unknown
4 (23.5%)
Euthanized
2 (11.8%)

Betamethasone: lower report volume in the FDA AER row

Read these counts as reporting volume, not risk: per our methodology, a widely-prescribed drug will rack up more raw FDA reports in a given year than a rarely-used one at an identical true rate, so we recommend comparing within similar-exposure products rather than across the full 2025 catalog.

What to do with this drug

A report does not prove a drug caused the reaction; consult a veterinarian before acting on this data.

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine openFDA Animal & Veterinary Adverse Events (CVM AER) · 2025

openFDA Animal & Veterinary Adverse Events (FDA CVM) for Betamethasone (#1940 of 2,679 by report volume); death-coded 11.8%. PlainBreed drug row · report volume stamp 17 · vintage 2025.

Informational only. FDA adverse-event reports are voluntary and do not prove causation; consult a veterinarian before acting on them. Verify with FDA CVM →