Unspecified Steroid

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81 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.
81
Total Reports
20
Deaths Reported
2470.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Unspecified Steroid

Administration Routes

UnknownOralSubcutaneousParenteral

Species Affected

Dog 53
Cat 27
Horse 1

Most Affected Breeds

Domestic Shorthair 20
Retriever - Labrador 6
Chihuahua 4
Shepherd Dog - Australian 3
Domestic Longhair 3
Dog (unknown) 3
Shepherd Dog - German 3
Spitz - German Pomeranian 3
Shih Tzu 2
Pug 2

Most Reported Reactions

Vomiting 13
Death by euthanasia 13
Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 11
Not eating 9
Lack of efficacy (ectoparasite) - flea 8
Behavioural disorder NOS 7
Lack of efficacy - NOS 7
Anorexia 7
Death 6
Ataxia 6
Decreased appetite 6
Diarrhoea 6

Outcome Breakdown

Outcome Unknown
27 (33.3%)
Recovered/Normal
18 (22.2%)
Ongoing
15 (18.5%)
Euthanized
13 (16.0%)
Died
7 (8.6%)
Recovered with Sequela
1 (1.2%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 81
Reports involving death 20
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 2470.0%
Distinct species in reports 3
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.

Unspecified Steroid Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 81 adverse event reports referencing Unspecified Steroid, including 20 reports in which the animal died — a 2470.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Unspecified Steroid. Reported administration routes include Unknown, Oral, Subcutaneous, Parenteral. 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 Unspecified Steroid reports are Dog (53 reports), Cat (27 reports), Horse (1 reports), with Dog accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Domestic Shorthair (20), Retriever - Labrador (6), Chihuahua (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 Unspecified Steroid are Vomiting (13), Death by euthanasia (13), Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') (11), Not eating (9). Of the 81 reports with a coded outcome, Outcome Unknown is the leading category at 33.3%. 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 Unspecified Steroid.

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