Reaction profile

The FDA adverse-event record for sudden death

1,241 FDA reports name sudden death, a high-volume reaction in the CVM extract (VeDDRA 982). Plate stamps and neighbourhood peers follow.

#329 of 2,481
by report volume (all reactions)
1,241
reports citing this reaction
99.8%
death-coded share
Dog
most-affected species

Release-over-release change

What changed in the latest FDA data snapshot

PlainBreed reconstructed the prior snapshot from dated openFDA partitions through 2025 Q4, then compared it with the 2026-07-27 openFDA export. Sudden death has 1,241 reports now versus 1,225 in that prior snapshot: 16 more (1.3%).

Report change
+16
Death-coded reports
+16
Death-coded share
+0.0 pts

This compares reported-event counts in two source snapshots. It does not establish a change in real-world risk, product safety, or disease incidence.

Subscribe to Sudden death changes

FDA AER · VeDDRA plate

Code 982 VOL-MID

VOL-MID · DEATH-HOT · UPPER-Q · PHOTO-FINISH · SPECIES-DOG · DRUG-LEAD · DESK-WIDE · BOOK-FULL

  • VOL-MID 1,241 reports
  • DEATH-HOT 99.8%
  • UPPER-Q #329/2481
  • PHOTO-FINISH Flatulence
  • SPECIES-DOG Dog · 692
  • DRUG-LEAD Milbemycin Oxime… · 129
  • DESK-WIDE 20 breeds
  • BOOK-FULL 8/8 fields

Nearest volume peer: Flatulence (±3 reports)

Upper-third death-coded share drives the outcome stamps on this plate; volume band, corpus rank, and co-report peers follow. Not a clinical diagnosis.

High-volume neighbourhood around Sudden death

Upper-third volume poles plus nearest peers, not a full reaction corpus board reprint.

Vomiting · highest174348Decreased drinking · near1250Sudden death · this reaction1241Flatulence · near1238Drug administered at… · near1237Medication error · near1235Urinary tract neoplas… · low…10
FDA AER report volume · neighbourhood around Sudden death

Sudden death: high death-coded share in the FDA AER plate

Signature read: Sudden death's 99.8% death-coded share is among the highest in the openFDA reaction corpus. Report volume is upper-third scale: 1,241 named reports in the openFDA extract. Death-coded share is upper-third: 1,238 of 1,241 reports (99.8% of named reports). Nearest volume peer: Flatulence (±3 reports). Lead species Dog (692). Lead co-reported drug Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad (129).

Read these counts as reporting volume, not risk: per our methodology, A high death-coded share in FDA filings does not prove causation; co-reporting is voluntary temporal association only. Browse the full reactions index or the about page for how PlainBreed frames FDA CVM extracts.

Species Most Affected

Dog 692
Cat 244
Cattle 210
Horse 42
Pig 18
Sheep 9
Rabbit 6
Chicken 4
Turkey 3
Goat 3

Breeds Most Affected

Domestic Shorthair 160
Retriever - Labrador 71
Mixed (Cattle) 54
Cattle (other) 48
Shepherd Dog - German 45
Chihuahua 39
Holstein-Friesian also known as Holstein 39
Retriever - Golden 31
Dog (unknown) 29
Boxer (German Boxer) 26

Associated Drugs

Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad 129
Cefovecin 73
Ceftiofur Crystalline Free Acid 70
Maropitant Citrate 69
Spinosad 61
Carprofen 55
Moxidectin 51
Selamectin 41
Prednisone 32
Oclacitinib Maleate 32
Buprenorphine 31
Trilostane 30
Dexmedetomidine Hydrochloride 30
Fluralaner Chew Tablets 29
Meloxicam 28
Butorphanol 27
Bedinvetmab 27
Dexmedetomidine 25
Enrofloxacin 24
Nitenpyram 24

Nationwide reactions with similar profiles

Two openFDA-derived peer sets for Sudden death, both floored at ≥50 reports so the neighborhoods stay in the advertised mass (the volume chart above is the unfloored photo-finish strip).

What to do with this reaction

A report does not prove a drug caused the reaction; consult a veterinarian before acting on this data.

Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine openFDA Animal & Veterinary Adverse Events (CVM AER) · 2025

openFDA Animal & Veterinary Adverse Events (FDA CVM) for Sudden death (#329 of 2,481 by report volume); death-coded 99.8%. PlainBreed reaction plate · death-coded share stamp 99.8% · vintage 2025.

Informational only. FDA adverse-event reports are voluntary and do not prove causation; consult a veterinarian before acting on them. Verify with FDA CVM →