Butorphanol Injectable

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283 adverse event reports submitted to the FDA

Important: Adverse event reports do not establish that a drug caused or contributed to the event. Consult your veterinarian before making treatment decisions.
283
Total Reports
51
Deaths Reported
1800.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Butorphanol Injectable

Administration Routes

UnknownIntramuscularIntravenousSubcutaneousOtherParenteral

Species Affected

Dog 116
Unknown 91
Cat 60
Horse 14
Human 2

Most Affected Breeds

Unknown 94
Domestic Shorthair 36
Dog (unknown) 19
Crossbred Canine/dog 19
Cat (unknown) 9
Quarter Horse 9
Retriever - Labrador 8
Domestic Mediumhair 6
Pit Bull 5
Shepherd Dog - Australian 5

Most Reported Reactions

Death 43
Bradycardia 23
Appearance, Abnormal 23
Closure, Abnormal 19
Cardiac arrest 18
Containers, Leaking 17
Cyanosis 13
Uncoded sign 12
Product problem 12
Drug administration error 12
Vials, Leaking 11
Lack of efficacy - NOS 11

Outcome Breakdown

Recovered/Normal
100 (51.3%)
Died
43 (22.1%)
Ongoing
31 (15.9%)
Outcome Unknown
11 (5.6%)
Euthanized
9 (4.6%)
Recovered with Sequela
1 (0.5%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 283
Reports involving death 51
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 1800.0%
Distinct species in reports 5
Distinct breeds in reports 20
Distinct reactions reported 20
Active ingredients on file 1

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reporting (CVM AER). Counts reflect voluntary reports only.

Butorphanol Injectable Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 283 adverse event reports referencing Butorphanol Injectable, including 51 reports in which the animal died — a 1800.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Butorphanol Injectable. Reported administration routes include Unknown, Intramuscular, Intravenous, Subcutaneous. These numbers reflect voluntary submissions from pet owners, veterinarians, and manufacturers and therefore under-represent mild events and over-represent severe ones — a pattern the FDA has documented repeatedly for pharmacovigilance datasets.

The species most frequently named in Butorphanol Injectable reports are Dog (116 reports), Unknown (91 reports), Cat (60 reports), with Dog accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Unknown (94), Domestic Shorthair (36), Dog (unknown) (19) appear most often — though breed popularity and ownership density shape these counts as much as any drug-specific sensitivity. This distribution matters because the same active ingredient can behave very differently across body sizes, ages, and species physiology.

The most commonly reported clinical signs associated with Butorphanol Injectable are Death (43), Bradycardia (23), Appearance, Abnormal (23), Closure, Abnormal (19). Of the 195 reports with a coded outcome, Recovered/Normal is the leading category at 51.3%. Because FDA adverse event data describes correlation rather than causation, these figures are best used to frame informed questions with a veterinarian and to compare reporting patterns across related products — not as a standalone safety verdict on Butorphanol Injectable.

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reports Data reflects voluntary submissions and may not represent actual incidence rates

Related

Data sourced from official AKC, AVMA, ACVO, and breed-club veterinary references. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainBreed Editorial