Elevated gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT)

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VeDDRA Code: 2238

2,915 adverse event reports referencing this reaction

2,915
Total Reports
595
Deaths
2040.0%
Death Rate

Species Most Affected

Dog 2,684
Cat 180
Horse 44
Cattle 3
Goat 2
Other Canids 1
Ferret 1

Breeds Most Affected

Retriever - Labrador 393
Crossbred Canine/dog 187
Domestic Shorthair 128
Chihuahua 112
Retriever - Golden 105
Shih Tzu 102
Maltese 90
Terrier - Yorkshire 81
Beagle 74
Terrier - Boston 72

Associated Drugs

Trilostane 782
Carprofen 563
Maropitant Citrate 238
Oclacitinib Maleate 184
Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad 124
Afoxolaner 124
Gabapentin 112
Fluralaner Chew Tablets 111
Prednisone 98
Moxidectin 95
Ivermectin + Pyrantel As Pamoate Salt 87
Metronidazole 77
Grapiprant 74
Tramadol 68
Famotidine 63
Meloxicam 61
Bedinvetmab 58
Fluralaner 13.64% 12-Week Chew 57
Cyclosporine 56
Enrofloxacin 54

Data Summary

Metric Value
Total reports referencing reaction 2,915
Reports with fatal outcome 595
Case-fatality rate (reported events) 2040.0%
Species observed 7
Breeds observed 20
Drugs associated with reaction 20

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine — Adverse Event Reporting (CVM AER); reaction term coded under VeDDRA 2238.

Elevated gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) Reaction Insights

The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine database currently lists 2,915 adverse event reports that reference Elevated gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) as a reaction term, including 595 reports with a death outcome — a 2040.0% case-fatality figure calculated across only those events where this reaction was coded. The reaction is indexed in the openFDA system under VeDDRA code 2238, the standardized veterinary dictionary used to normalize clinical signs across submitters. Because reports are voluntary and often describe multiple concurrent signs per animal, the volume here reflects reporting intensity rather than true incidence in the broader pet population.

Elevated gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) appears most frequently in reports for Dog (2,684 reports), Cat (180 reports), Horse (44 reports) — with Dog dominating at 2,684 entries. Within those species, the breeds most often named alongside this reaction are Retriever - Labrador (393), Crossbred Canine/dog (187), Domestic Shorthair (128). These distributions are influenced both by underlying breed popularity and by how veterinarians and owners code a given clinical sign, so they should be interpreted as a reporting fingerprint rather than a pure susceptibility ranking.

The drugs most commonly co-reported with Elevated gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) are Trilostane (782 reports), Carprofen (563 reports), Maropitant Citrate (238 reports), Oclacitinib Maleate (184 reports), with Trilostane appearing alongside this reaction in 782 submissions. Co-reporting does not establish that any specific product caused the reaction — FDA CVM data captures temporal association only. The value of these aggregates is in flagging which therapeutic classes appear repeatedly alongside a given clinical sign, so owners and veterinarians can ask targeted questions about medications currently in use.

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