Potassium Bromide

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500 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.
500
Total Reports
31
Deaths Reported
620.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Potassium Bromide

Administration Routes

OralUnknownTopical

Species Affected

Dog 376
Unknown 119
Human 3
Cat 2

Most Affected Breeds

Unknown 126
Retriever - Labrador 31
Chihuahua 21
Crossbred Canine/dog 21
Beagle 17
Shepherd Dog - Australian 13
Shepherd Dog - German 13
Retriever - Golden 13
Boxer (German Boxer) 12
Dachshund (unspecified) 10

Most Reported Reactions

Tablets, Abnormal 83
Seizure NOS 78
Lack of efficacy - NOS 70
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 45
Ataxia 40
Other abnormal test result NOS 31
Vomiting 29
INEFFECTIVE, SEIZURES 23
Diarrhoea 19
Elevated serum alkaline phosphatase (SAP) 17
Limb weakness 17
Death 15

Outcome Breakdown

Outcome Unknown
140 (36.6%)
Recovered/Normal
119 (31.2%)
Ongoing
83 (21.7%)
Died
16 (4.2%)
Euthanized
15 (3.9%)
Recovered with Sequela
9 (2.4%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 500
Reports involving death 31
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 620.0%
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.

Potassium Bromide Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 500 adverse event reports referencing Potassium Bromide, including 31 reports in which the animal died — a 620.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Potassium Bromide. Reported administration routes include Oral, Unknown, Topical. 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 Potassium Bromide reports are Dog (376 reports), Unknown (119 reports), Human (3 reports), with Dog accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Unknown (126), Retriever - Labrador (31), Chihuahua (21) 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 Potassium Bromide are Tablets, Abnormal (83), Seizure NOS (78), Lack of efficacy - NOS (70), Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') (45). Of the 382 reports with a coded outcome, Outcome Unknown is the leading category at 36.6%. 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 Potassium Bromide.

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