Clindamycin

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1,096 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.
1,096
Total Reports
221
Deaths Reported
2020.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Clindamycin

Administration Routes

OralUnknownIntravenousParenteralIntramuscularTopical

Species Affected

Dog 809
Cat 241
Unknown 43
Human 3

Most Affected Breeds

Domestic Shorthair 153
Retriever - Labrador 79
Unknown 50
Chihuahua 48
Crossbred Canine/dog 32
Shih Tzu 30
Terrier - Yorkshire 29
Shepherd Dog - German 27
Boxer (German Boxer) 25
Dachshund (unspecified) 24

Most Reported Reactions

Vomiting 173
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 164
Other abnormal test result NOS 136
Anorexia 132
Death by euthanasia 124
Death 89
Weight loss 89
Not eating 84
Ataxia 82
Emesis 74
Lack of efficacy - NOS 73
Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 72

Outcome Breakdown

Ongoing
364 (34.6%)
Recovered/Normal
263 (25.0%)
Outcome Unknown
181 (17.2%)
Euthanized
122 (11.6%)
Died
99 (9.4%)
Recovered with Sequela
22 (2.1%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 1,096
Reports involving death 221
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 2020.0%
Distinct species in reports 4
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.

Clindamycin Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 1,096 adverse event reports referencing Clindamycin, including 221 reports in which the animal died — a 2020.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Clindamycin. Reported administration routes include Oral, Unknown, Intravenous, Parenteral. 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 Clindamycin reports are Dog (809 reports), Cat (241 reports), Unknown (43 reports), with Dog accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Domestic Shorthair (153), Retriever - Labrador (79), Unknown (50) 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 Clindamycin are Vomiting (173), Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') (164), Other abnormal test result NOS (136), Anorexia (132). Of the 1,051 reports with a coded outcome, Ongoing is the leading category at 34.6%. 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 Clindamycin.

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