Detomidine Hydrochloride

Verify with FDA CVM →

678 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.
678
Total Reports
79
Deaths Reported
1170.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Detomidine Hydrochloride

Administration Routes

IntravenousUnknownSublingualOralIntramuscularTopicalOtherEpiduralSubcutaneousOphthalmic

Species Affected

Horse 560
Unknown 29
Human 24
Dog 22
Donkey 20
Other Equids 7
Cat 5
Pig 3
Mule 2
Goat 2

Most Affected Breeds

Quarter Horse 151
Horse (unknown) 144
Unknown 65
Thoroughbred 54
Warmblood (unspecified) 39
Arab 24
Donkey (other) 16
Miniature 15
Paint 15
Appaloosa 12

Most Reported Reactions

INEFFECTIVE, SEDATION 115
Lack of efficacy - NOS 84
Sedation prolonged 55
Underdose 54
Hives (see also 'Skin') 46
Tachypnoea 37
Colic 36
Tachycardia 30
Death 30
Fever 29
Death by euthanasia 28
Urticaria 28

Outcome Breakdown

Recovered/Normal
422 (64.8%)
Outcome Unknown
99 (15.2%)
Ongoing
50 (7.7%)
Died
48 (7.4%)
Euthanized
31 (4.8%)
Recovered with Sequela
1 (0.2%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 678
Reports involving death 79
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 1170.0%
Distinct species in reports 10
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.

Detomidine Hydrochloride Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 678 adverse event reports referencing Detomidine Hydrochloride, including 79 reports in which the animal died — a 1170.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Detomidine Hydrochloride. Reported administration routes include Intravenous, Unknown, Sublingual, 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 Detomidine Hydrochloride reports are Horse (560 reports), Unknown (29 reports), Human (24 reports), with Horse accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Quarter Horse (151), Horse (unknown) (144), Unknown (65) 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 Detomidine Hydrochloride are INEFFECTIVE, SEDATION (115), Lack of efficacy - NOS (84), Sedation prolonged (55), Underdose (54). Of the 651 reports with a coded outcome, Recovered/Normal is the leading category at 64.8%. 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 Detomidine Hydrochloride.

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