Pet Drug Reports

Reported signs

Reported sign · VeDDRA term

Difficulty of Use: reports listing this term

In plain language: a product quality report, not a sign in an animal

3,260reports listing the term, 2008–20230.2% of all reports
0reports, 12 months to March 20260 in the 12 months before
10%classed serious, as reportedall reports: 38.6%
5.6%of these reports concern dogshuman exposure 5.6%

"Difficulty of Use" (a product quality report, not a sign in an animal) is a coded term listed in 3,260 adverse event reports received by FDA, 0.2% of the database. Terms come from VeDDRA, the veterinary dictionary that FDA and drug companies use to code what a reporter describes.

0 reports listed it in the 12 months to March 2026, and none in the 12 months before. FDA posts reports quarterly with a delay of three to six months, so the newest months are incomplete and usually grow in later releases.

By active ingredient, the drugs named most often in those reports are milbemycin oxime + spinosad, fluralaner and cyclosporine. That order mostly follows how many reports each has overall; the table gives the term's share within each drug's own reports as well.

5.6% of the reports concern dogs, 5.6% of the reports concern exposed people and 2.7% of the reports concern cats. Of reports listing this term that state seriousness, 10% were classed as serious; 0.2% record a death or euthanasia among the outcomes.

Drugs named most often in these reports, by active ingredient

Active ingredients recorded for the drugReports listing the termShare of that drug's own reports
Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad5330.4%
Fluralaner4920.6%
Cyclosporine3071.4%
Gentamicin Sulfate + Hydrocortisone aceponate + Miconazole Nitrate30516.6%
Spinosad1840.3%
Moxidectin1090.2%
Selamectin1090.2%
Ciclesonide7625.2%
Sarolaner + Selamectin670.7%
Meloxicam660.4%
Milbemycin Oxime + Praziquantel540.2%
Deslorelin Acetate4511.5%
Omeprazole451.2%
Ivermectin + Pyrantel Pamoate320%
Afoxolaner300%
Capromorelin281%
Nitenpyram270.1%
Sarolaner270.2%
Propofol260.5%
Dexmedetomidine hydrochloride250.4%
Fluralaner + Moxidectin220.6%
Amoxicillin Trihydrate + Clavulanate Potassium200.4%
Lotilaner190.2%
Robenacoxib190.5%
Insulin180.1%

Ordered by number of reports, which mostly tracks how many reports a drug has overall. Across the whole database the term appears in 0.2% of reports. A drug's presence in a report means the animal received it, not that it produced the sign; FDA states that these data cannot be used to compare one product with another. openFDA masks brand and manufacturer names in adverse event records, so the reports counted here cannot be attributed to a particular brand.

Single ingredients, pooled across combinations

Active ingredientReports listing the termShare of the ingredient's own reports
Spinosad7110.3%
Milbemycin Oxime6000.3%
Fluralaner5140.6%
Gentamicin Sulfate3084.8%
Cyclosporine3071.4%
Hydrocortisone aceponate30516.4%
Miconazole Nitrate30512.6%
Selamectin1760.2%
Moxidectin1590.2%
Praziquantel1020.1%
Sarolaner1000.1%
Ciclesonide7625.2%
Ivermectin660%
Meloxicam660.4%
Pyrantel Pamoate460%
Deslorelin Acetate4511.5%
Omeprazole451.2%
Afoxolaner300%
Capromorelin281%
Nitenpyram270.1%
Propofol260.5%
Clavulanate Potassium250.3%
Dexmedetomidine hydrochloride250.4%
Amoxicillin Trihydrate200.3%
Lotilaner190.1%

Species split

Dog5.6%183
Human exposure5.6%181
Cat2.7%87
Horse0.2%6
Cattle0.1%3
Chicken0.1%2

Coloured bar: share of reports listing this term. Grey bar: the species' share of all reports. The term appears in 0% of all dog reports; The term appears in 1.1% of all human exposure reports.

Trend

02855Apr 2021: 30May 2021: 46Jun 2021: 39Jul 2021: 33Aug 2021: 23Sep 2021: 32Oct 2021: 29Nov 2021: 44Dec 2021: 35Jan 2022: 452022Feb 2022: 47Mar 2022: 55Apr 2022: 53May 2022: 34Jun 2022: 45Jul 2022: 37Aug 2022: 49Sep 2022: 41Oct 2022: 36Nov 2022: 32Dec 2022: 29Jan 2023: 332023Feb 2023: 29Mar 2023: 41Apr 2023: 24May 2023: 33Jun 2023: 10Jul 2023: 0Aug 2023: 0Sep 2023: 0Oct 2023: 0Nov 2023: 0Dec 2023: 0Jan 2024: 02024Feb 2024: 0Mar 2024: 0Apr 2024: 0May 2024: 0Jun 2024: 0Jul 2024: 0Aug 2024: 0Sep 2024: 0Oct 2024: 0Nov 2024: 0Dec 2024: 0Jan 2025: 02025Feb 2025: 0Mar 2025: 0Apr 2025: 0May 2025: 0Jun 2025: 0Jul 2025: 0Aug 2025: 0Sep 2025: 0Oct 2025: 0Nov 2025: 0Dec 2025: 0Jan 2026: 02026Feb 2026: 0Mar 2026: 0

Reports by month FDA received them, five years to March 2026. The newest months are incomplete because FDA posts reports with a delay of three to six months.

02525032008: 120082010: 120102011: 420112012: 8120122013: 10620132014: 21420142015: 27620152016: 17720162017: 39320172018: 34920182019: 26920192020: 32620202021: 39020212022: 50320222023: 1702023

Outcomes and ages in these reports

Outcome recorded in the report

Recovered/Normal6.2%201
Recovered with Sequela0.2%6
Ongoing3.6%116
Died0.1%3
Euthanized0.1%2
Outcome Unknown4.1%133

Age of the animal

Under 1 year0.6%19
1 to 3 years2.2%72
4 to 7 years1.6%51
8 to 11 years1.7%54
12 years and over2.7%88
Age not given91.3%2,976
MeasureReports listing this termAll reports
Reports3,2601,357,245
Classed serious, of reports stating it10%38.6%
Death or euthanasia recorded, per 1,000 reports1.563.8

Grey bars and the right-hand column are the whole database. Outcomes are as stated by the reporter and describe the report as a whole, not this term alone.

Questions about "Difficulty of Use"

What does "Difficulty of Use" mean in an adverse event report?

In plain language: a product quality report, not a sign in an animal. It is a VeDDRA dictionary term picked to code what the reporter described. The report's free-text description is not published by FDA and is not shown here.

How many reports list difficulty of Use?

3,260 reports through March 2026 (0.2% of all reports), 0 of them in the latest 12 months.

Which drugs are named most often alongside this term?

By active ingredient: milbemycin oxime + spinosad (533), fluralaner (492), cyclosporine (307), gentamicin sulfate + hydrocortisone aceponate + miconazole nitrate (305) and spinosad (184). Drugs with many reports overall lead almost every term's list. Brands cannot be identified: openFDA masks them.

Which species are involved?

dog (5.6%), human exposure (5.6%), cat (2.7%) and horse (0.2%).

Does a drug appearing here mean it produced this sign?

No such conclusion can be drawn. FDA states that "there is no certainty that the reported drug or device caused the adverse event" and that the event "may have been related to an underlying disease, other drugs used at the same time or other non-drug related sources."

My animal shows this sign. What now?

This site cannot assess an animal. A veterinarian can; for an emergency, contact a veterinary emergency clinic. See the guide on when to call a vet.

Where this comes from. Counts are built from the openFDA Animal & Veterinary adverse event bulk files released 28 Sep 2026, which hold reports FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine received through 31 Mar 2026. openFDA masks brand and manufacturer names in these files, so drugs are counted by the active ingredients each record discloses and no figure is attributed to a brand, application or company. Ingredient names, and the separate reference lists of approved products, follow the FDA Green Book as of 1 Oct 2026. Spelling variants of the same VeDDRA term (for example with and without a cross-reference note) are pooled. No report text, lot numbers or reporter details are published. See the methodology and sources; FDA's record is authoritative, and corrections are handled within five working days.