Sildenafil

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63 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.
63
Total Reports
11
Deaths Reported
1750.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Sildenafil

Administration Routes

OralUnknownOther

Species Affected

Dog 62
Human 1

Most Affected Breeds

Chihuahua 10
Terrier - Yorkshire 7
Terrier - Jack Russell 4
Shepherd Dog - Australian 4
Dog (unknown) 3
Maltese 3
Shih Tzu 3
Poodle (unspecified) 2
Crossbred Canine/dog 2
Dachshund (unspecified) 2

Most Reported Reactions

Not eating 11
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in Neurological) 9
Behavioural disorder NOS 7
Hyperkalaemia 7
Lack of efficacy - NOS 6
Vomiting 6
Death 6
Death by euthanasia 6
Weight loss 5
Decreased appetite 5
Diarrhoea 5
Abnormal radiograph finding 5

Outcome Breakdown

Outcome Unknown
24 (38.7%)
Ongoing
16 (25.8%)
Recovered/Normal
11 (17.7%)
Died
6 (9.7%)
Euthanized
5 (8.1%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 63
Reports involving death 11
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 1750.0%
Distinct species in reports 2
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.

Sildenafil Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 63 adverse event reports referencing Sildenafil, including 11 reports in which the animal died — a 1750.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Sildenafil. Reported administration routes include Oral, Unknown, Other. 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 Sildenafil reports are Dog (62 reports), Human (1 reports), with Dog accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Chihuahua (10), Terrier - Yorkshire (7), Terrier - Jack Russell (4) 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 Sildenafil are Not eating (11), Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in Neurological) (9), Behavioural disorder NOS (7), Hyperkalaemia (7). Of the 62 reports with a coded outcome, Outcome Unknown is the leading category at 38.7%. 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 Sildenafil.

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