Vitamin E

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132 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.
132
Total Reports
24
Deaths Reported
1820.0%
Death Rate

Active Ingredients

Vitamin E

Administration Routes

UnknownOralTopicalOphthalmic

Species Affected

Dog 100
Pig 11
Horse 10
Cat 5
Cattle 2
Human 2
Goat 2

Most Affected Breeds

Retriever - Labrador 15
Retriever - Golden 9
Shepherd Dog - German 7
Crossbred Canine/dog 7
Shepherd Dog - Australian 4
Domestic Shorthair 3
Terrier - Yorkshire 3
Deutsche Dogge, Great Dane 3
Crossbred Porcine/Pig 3
Dachshund (unspecified) 3

Most Reported Reactions

Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') 17
Death by euthanasia 16
Vomiting 15
Diarrhoea 13
Emesis 11
Elevated liver enzymes 10
Elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 10
Seizure NOS 10
Decreased appetite 9
Death 8
Behavioural disorder NOS 8
Weight loss 8

Outcome Breakdown

Recovered/Normal
38 (27.0%)
Outcome Unknown
36 (25.5%)
Ongoing
34 (24.1%)
Euthanized
19 (13.5%)
Died
8 (5.7%)
Recovered with Sequela
6 (4.3%)

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total adverse event reports 132
Reports involving death 24
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 1820.0%
Distinct species in reports 7
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.

Vitamin E Adverse Event Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently holds 132 adverse event reports referencing Vitamin E, including 24 reports in which the animal died — a 1820.0% case-fatality figure among reported events only, not a population-level mortality rate. Active ingredient on file: Vitamin E. Reported administration routes include Unknown, Oral, Topical, Ophthalmic. 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 Vitamin E reports are Dog (100 reports), Pig (11 reports), Horse (10 reports), with Dog accounting for the largest share. Within those species, Retriever - Labrador (15), Retriever - Golden (9), Shepherd Dog - German (7) 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 Vitamin E are Lethargy (see also Central nervous system depression in 'Neurological') (17), Death by euthanasia (16), Vomiting (15), Diarrhoea (13). Of the 141 reports with a coded outcome, Recovered/Normal is the leading category at 27.0%. 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 Vitamin E.

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