Drug profile

The FDA adverse-event record for Clindamycin

1,152 FDA reports name Clindamycin, a high-volume drug in the CVM extract. Species, reactions, and outcomes follow.

#162 of 2,679
by report volume (all drugs)
1,152
adverse-event reports
20.5%
death-coded share
Dog
most-reported species

Corpus placement

According to the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine openFDA adverse-event extract, Clindamycin ranks #162 of 2679 by total reports (1,152) and #235 of 1130 by death-coded share (20.5%). 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)
#162
This drug, reports of 2679
#235
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. Clindamycin has 1,152 reports now versus 1,129 in that prior snapshot: 23 more (2.0%).

Report change
+23
Death-coded reports
+7
Death-coded share
+0.2 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 Clindamycin changes

Signature read: death-coded report count at 236 is the most distinctive stamp on Clindamycin's FDA AER row.

Important: Adverse event reports do not establish that a drug caused or contributed to the event. Consult your veterinarian before making treatment decisions.
1,152
Total Reports
236
Deaths Reported
20.5%
Death-coded share of reports

Active Ingredients

Clindamycin

Administration Routes

OralUnknownIntravenousParenteralIntramuscularTopical

Species Affected

Dog 843
Cat 261
Unknown 43
Human 4
Other 1

Most Affected Breeds

Domestic Shorthair 168
Retriever - Labrador 82
Unknown 54
Chihuahua 50
Crossbred Canine/dog 35
Terrier - Yorkshire 31
Shih Tzu 31
Shepherd Dog - German 27
Dachshund (unspecified) 25
Retriever - Golden 25

Most Reported Reactions

Vomiting 179
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 164
Other abnormal test result NOS 140
Anorexia 135
Death by euthanasia 127
Death 100
Not eating 93
Weight loss 91
Ataxia 88
Lack of efficacy - NOS 76
Emesis 74
Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 73

Outcome Breakdown

Ongoing
398 (36.0%)
Recovered/Normal
264 (23.8%)
Outcome Unknown
187 (16.9%)
Euthanized
126 (11.4%)
Died
110 (9.9%)
Recovered with Sequela
22 (2.0%)

Clindamycin: high death-coded share 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 Clindamycin, both floored at ≥50 reports so the neighborhoods stay in the advertised mass.

Similar report volume

Nearest other drugs by FDA report count (1,152 here).

Similar death-coded share

Nearest other drugs by death-coded share (20.5% 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 Clindamycin (#162 of 2,679 by report volume); death-coded 20.5%. PlainBreed drug row · death-coded report count stamp 236 · 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 →