Flunixin Meglumine

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437 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.
437
Total Reports
129
Deaths Reported
2950.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Flunixin Meglumine

Administration Routes

UnknownIntravenousIntramuscularSubcutaneousOralParenteralOtherIntra-ArterialOphthalmic

Species Affected

Horse 169
Unknown 114
Cattle 104
Dog 15
Pig 10
Human 9
Sheep 5
Goat 3
Cat 3
Donkey 2

Most Affected Breeds

Unknown 142
Quarter Horse 52
Holstein-Friesian also known as Holstein 32
Horse (unknown) 18
Crossbred Bovine/Cattle 16
Cattle (unknown) 16
Thoroughbred 14
Mixed (Cattle) 11
Aberdeen Angus 11
Warmblood (unspecified) 11

Most Reported Reactions

Death 87
Death by euthanasia 25
Colic 23
Fever 21
Anaphylaxis 21
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 21
Injection site swelling 20
Lack of efficacy - NOS 20
Elevated creatinine 20
Solution, Abnormal 19
Elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) 19
Contamination NOS 17

Outcome Breakdown

Died
108 (36.4%)
Recovered/Normal
86 (29.0%)
Outcome Unknown
53 (17.8%)
Euthanized
26 (8.8%)
Ongoing
19 (6.4%)
Recovered with Sequela
5 (1.7%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 437
Reports involving death 129
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 2950.0%
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.

Flunixin Meglumine Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 437 adverse event reports referencing Flunixin Meglumine, including 129 reports in which the animal died — a 2950.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Flunixin Meglumine. Reported administration routes include Unknown, Intravenous, Intramuscular, 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 Flunixin Meglumine reports are Horse (169 reports), Unknown (114 reports), Cattle (104 reports), with Horse accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Unknown (142), Quarter Horse (52), Holstein-Friesian also known as Holstein (32) 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 Flunixin Meglumine are Death (87), Death by euthanasia (25), Colic (23), Fever (21). Of the 297 reports with a coded outcome, Died is the leading category at 36.4%. 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 Flunixin Meglumine.

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