Pentobarbital, Phenytoin

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185 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.
185
Total Reports
138
Deaths Reported
7460.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Pentobarbital, Phenytoin

Administration Routes

IntravenousUnknownSubcutaneousOralTopicalOtherOphthalmicIntracardiacIntraperitonealIntramuscular

Species Affected

Dog 100
Cat 34
Unknown 20
Human 16
Horse 10
Other 2
Sheep 1
Rabbit 1
Cattle 1

Most Affected Breeds

Unknown 38
Mixed (Dog) 28
Dog (unknown) 25
Domestic (unspecified) 15
Crossbred Canine/dog 13
Cat (unknown) 13
Retriever - Labrador 9
Shepherd Dog - German 4
Rottweiler 4
Mixed (Horse) 3

Most Reported Reactions

Death by euthanasia 80
INEFFECTIVE, EUTHANASIA 74
INEFFECTIVE, DELAYED EFFECT 64
Unclassifiable adverse event 23
Accidental exposure 22
Injection site pain 8
Vocalisation 7
Solution, Abnormal 6
Vials, Damaged 5
Vials, Abnormal 5
Hypothermia 4
Eye irritation 4

Outcome Breakdown

Died
132 (95.0%)
Euthanized
6 (4.3%)
Outcome Unknown
1 (0.7%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 185
Reports involving death 138
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 7460.0%
Distinct species in reports 9
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.

Pentobarbital, Phenytoin Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 185 adverse event reports referencing Pentobarbital, Phenytoin, including 138 reports in which the animal died — a 7460.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Pentobarbital, Phenytoin. Reported administration routes include Intravenous, Unknown, Subcutaneous, 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 Pentobarbital, Phenytoin reports are Dog (100 reports), Cat (34 reports), Unknown (20 reports), with Dog accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Unknown (38), Mixed (Dog) (28), Dog (unknown) (25) 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 Pentobarbital, Phenytoin are Death by euthanasia (80), INEFFECTIVE, EUTHANASIA (74), INEFFECTIVE, DELAYED EFFECT (64), Unclassifiable adverse event (23). Of the 139 reports with a coded outcome, Died is the leading category at 95.0%. 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 Pentobarbital, Phenytoin.

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