Steroids

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56 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.
56
Total Reports
21
Deaths Reported
3750.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Steroids

Administration Routes

UnknownOral

Species Affected

Dog 41
Cat 15

Most Affected Breeds

Domestic Shorthair 9
Retriever - Labrador 5
Terrier - Bull - American Pit 4
Dog (unknown) 3
Rottweiler 2
Chihuahua 2
Terrier (unspecified) 2
Crossbred Canine/dog 2
Beagle 1
Bulldog 1

Most Reported Reactions

Death by euthanasia 13
Vomiting 12
Not eating 9
Death 8
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in Neurological) 8
Ataxia 7
Lack of efficacy - NOS 7
Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 6
Decreased appetite 6
Abnormal radiograph finding 6
Behavioural disorder NOS 6
Diarrhoea 5

Outcome Breakdown

Outcome Unknown
14 (25.0%)
Ongoing
14 (25.0%)
Euthanized
13 (23.2%)
Died
8 (14.3%)
Recovered/Normal
6 (10.7%)
Recovered with Sequela
1 (1.8%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 56
Reports involving death 21
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 3750.0%
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.

Steroids Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 56 adverse event reports referencing Steroids, including 21 reports in which the animal died — a 3750.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Steroids. Reported administration routes include Unknown, 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 Steroids reports are Dog (41 reports), Cat (15 reports), with Dog accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Domestic Shorthair (9), Retriever - Labrador (5), Terrier - Bull - American Pit (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 Steroids are Death by euthanasia (13), Vomiting (12), Not eating (9), Death (8). Of the 56 reports with a coded outcome, Outcome Unknown is the leading category at 25.0%. 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 Steroids.

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