Drug profile

The FDA adverse-event record for Bupivacaine

645 FDA reports name Bupivacaine, a high-volume drug in the CVM extract. Species, reactions, and outcomes follow.

#253 of 2,679
by report volume (all drugs)
645
adverse-event reports
9.1%
death-coded share
Cat
most-reported species

Corpus placement

According to the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine openFDA adverse-event extract, Bupivacaine ranks #253 of 2679 by total reports (645) and #587 of 1130 by death-coded share (9.1%). 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)
#253
This drug, reports of 2679
#587
This drug, death share of 1130

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. Bupivacaine has 645 reports now versus 633 in that prior snapshot: 12 more (1.9%).

Report change
+12
Death-coded reports
+3
Death-coded share
+0.3 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 Bupivacaine changes

Signature read: 645 reports place Bupivacaine in the upper third of FDA AER volume (#253 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.
645
Total Reports
59
Deaths Reported
9.1%
Death-coded share of reports

Active Ingredients

Bupivacaine

Administration Routes

UnknownParenteralOtherSubcutaneousEpiduralOralIntraocularTopicalIntradermalPerineural

Species Affected

Cat 240
Dog 232
Unknown 154
Human 12
Rabbit 2
Pig 2
Horse 1
Rat 1
Cephalopoda 1

Most Affected Breeds

Unknown 169
Domestic Shorthair 132
Dog (unknown) 56
Retriever - Labrador 33
Cat (unknown) 24
Domestic Longhair 22
Domestic Mediumhair 20
Retriever - Golden 15
Boxer (German Boxer) 11
Crossbred Canine/dog 10

Most Reported Reactions

Not eating 52
Vials, Damaged 37
Decreased appetite 34
Behavioural disorder NOS 34
Other abnormal test result NOS 32
Death 31
Death by euthanasia 28
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in Neurological) 28
Dilated pupils 27
Vomiting 25
Anorexia 25
Hypothermia 25

Outcome Breakdown

Recovered/Normal
162 (32.5%)
Ongoing
141 (28.3%)
Outcome Unknown
129 (25.9%)
Died
34 (6.8%)
Euthanized
29 (5.8%)
Recovered with Sequela
3 (0.6%)

Bupivacaine: high 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.

High-volume nationwide drug peers

Two openFDA-derived peer sets for Bupivacaine, both floored at ≥50 reports so the neighborhoods stay in the advertised mass.

Similar report volume

Nearest other drugs by FDA report count (645 here).

Similar death-coded share

Nearest other drugs by death-coded share (9.1% here), distinct from the volume row.

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 Bupivacaine (#253 of 2,679 by report volume); death-coded 9.1%. PlainBreed drug row · report volume stamp 645 · 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 →