Cetirizine Hcl

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266 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.
266
Total Reports
20
Deaths Reported
750.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Cetirizine Hcl

Administration Routes

UnknownOral

Species Affected

Dog 247
Cat 18
Horse 1

Most Affected Breeds

Retriever - Labrador 45
Retriever - Golden 11
Shepherd Dog - German 10
Terrier - Bull - American Pit 10
Shih Tzu 9
Bulldog - French 9
Bulldog 8
Terrier - Yorkshire 8
Boxer (German Boxer) 7
Terrier (unspecified) 7

Most Reported Reactions

Vomiting 38
Other abnormal test result NOS 35
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 33
INEFFECTIVE, LOSS OF EFFECT 27
Lack of efficacy - NOS 26
INEFFECTIVE, ATOPY CONTROL 21
Anorexia 20
Diarrhoea 19
Behavioural disorder NOS 19
Seizure NOS 14
PR-SKIN, LESION(S) 13
Dermal mass 13

Outcome Breakdown

Ongoing
166 (62.4%)
Outcome Unknown
42 (15.8%)
Recovered/Normal
38 (14.3%)
Euthanized
11 (4.1%)
Died
9 (3.4%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 266
Reports involving death 20
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 750.0%
Distinct species in reports 3
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.

Cetirizine Hcl Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 266 adverse event reports referencing Cetirizine Hcl, including 20 reports in which the animal died — a 750.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Cetirizine Hcl. Reported administration routes include Unknown, Oral. 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 Cetirizine Hcl reports are Dog (247 reports), Cat (18 reports), Horse (1 reports), with Dog accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Retriever - Labrador (45), Retriever - Golden (11), Shepherd Dog - German (10) 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 Cetirizine Hcl are Vomiting (38), Other abnormal test result NOS (35), Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') (33), INEFFECTIVE, LOSS OF EFFECT (27). Of the 266 reports with a coded outcome, Ongoing is the leading category at 62.4%. 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 Cetirizine Hcl.

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