Drug profile

The FDA adverse-event record for Phenylbutazone

140 FDA reports name Phenylbutazone, a high-volume drug in the CVM extract. Species, reactions, and outcomes follow.

#651 of 2,679
by report volume (all drugs)
140
adverse-event reports
15.0%
death-coded share
Horse
most-reported species

Corpus placement

According to the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine openFDA adverse-event extract, Phenylbutazone ranks #649 of 2679 by total reports (140) and #362 of 1130 by death-coded share (15.0%). 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)
#649
This drug, reports of 2679
#362
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. Phenylbutazone has 140 reports now versus 138 in that prior snapshot: 2 more (1.4%).

Report change
+2
Death-coded reports
+0
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 Phenylbutazone changes

Signature read: death-coded report count at 21 is the most distinctive stamp on Phenylbutazone'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.
140
Total Reports
21
Deaths Reported
15.0%
Death-coded share of reports

Active Ingredients

Phenylbutazone

Administration Routes

UnknownOralIntravenousParenteral

Species Affected

Horse 102
Unknown 31
Dog 4
Other 1
Other Equids 1
Donkey 1

Most Affected Breeds

Unknown 40
Quarter Horse 31
Thoroughbred 11
Horse (unknown) 11
Warmblood (unspecified) 8
Arab 6
Paint 3
Standardbred (unspecified) 3
Warmblood - Dutch 3
Tennessee Walking Horse 3

Most Reported Reactions

Colic 17
Injection site swelling 13
Elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) 13
Elevated creatinine 13
Lameness 11
Death by euthanasia 11
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 10
Fever 10
Polyuria 10
Polydipsia 10
Decreased appetite 8
Tachycardia 7

Outcome Breakdown

Recovered/Normal
37 (33.6%)
Outcome Unknown
37 (33.6%)
Ongoing
13 (11.8%)
Euthanized
12 (10.9%)
Died
9 (8.2%)
Recovered with Sequela
2 (1.8%)

Phenylbutazone: high report volume 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 Phenylbutazone, both floored at ≥50 reports so the neighborhoods stay in the advertised mass.

Similar death-coded share

Nearest other drugs by death-coded share (15.0% 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 Phenylbutazone (#651 of 2,679 by report volume); death-coded 15.0%. PlainBreed drug row · death-coded report count stamp 21 · 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 →