Pet Drug Reports

Distension of abdomen: in adverse event reports for animal drugs

Clinical sign, a VeDDRA term

Read this first. FDA says this about the data:

An API dataset query result cannot be used to estimate the risk associated with the product or compare one drug or device product with another. When looking at the results, be aware that there is no certainty that the reported drug or device caused the adverse event. This dataset should not be the sole source of information for clinical decision-making or other assumptions about the safety or effectiveness of a product. The adverse event may have been related to an underlying disease, other drugs used at the same time or other non-drug related sources.

FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine publishes these words. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices, read on . The data have the reports that FDA received through .

This page is not veterinary advice. For an animal that is ill, speak to a veterinarian.

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From October 1987 to June 2026, FDA received 2,618 adverse event reports for animal drugs that list this sign. That is 0.2% of the 1,378,761 reports that FDA received from January 1987 to June 2026. In the 12 months to June 2026, FDA received 136 reports that list this sign.

Of the 2,618 reports, 88.7% are about dogs. A report can list more than one sign and more than one drug. A report is not proof that a drug caused a sign.

By number of reports in all years, this sign is number 226 of 1,149 clinical signs with a page. Reports that list this sign rose by 2.3% in the 12 months to June 2026, compared with the 12 months before. Reports for all animal drugs fell by 4.6% in the same periods. The newest months can get more reports in a later update. Reports about dogs are 88.7% of the reports that list this sign, and 72.6% of all reports.

Search engines list a sign page with 3,000 reports or more in all years. The page also needs 300 reports or more in the 12 months to June 2026. This page is under one of these numbers. The site keeps the page and keeps it out of search engines.

Drug pages with reports that list this sign

The table has every drug page with 20 or more reports that list this sign, in order of name. No count decides which drug is in the table. The table has 52 drug pages.

Show the 52 drug pages
Drug pages with 20 or more reports that list this sign, in order of name
Active ingredientsReports that list the sign
Afoxolaner55
Amoxicillin42
Bedinvetmab88
Buprenorphine29
Butorphanol Tartrate32
Carprofen406
Cefovecin sodium51
Cefpodoxime proxetil30
Cyclosporine66
Deracoxib170
Dexamethasone31
Diphenhydramine36
Dirlotapide21
Doxycycline23
Enalapril Maleate20
Enrofloxacin34
Famotidine35
Febantel + Praziquantel + Pyrantel Pamoate20
Fenbendazole23
Firocoxib84
Fluralaner116
Furosemide22
Gabapentin72
Grapiprant35
Imidacloprid + Moxidectin23
Insulin42
Isoflurane34
Ivermectin27
Ivermectin + Pyrantel Pamoate99
Lufenuron + Milbemycin Oxime34
Maropitant142
Melarsomine Dihydrochloride54
Meloxicam68
Metronidazole44
Milbemycin Oxime43
Milbemycin Oxime + Praziquantel39
Milbemycin Oxime + Spinosad164
Moxidectin81
Oclacitinib100
Pimobendan37
Praziquantel + Pyrantel Pamoate46
Prednisolone21
Prednisone67
Propofol28
Pyrantel Pamoate43
Pyrantel Pamoate + Sarolaner22
Selamectin56
Selegiline Hydrochloride27
Spinosad61
Sucralfate25
Tramadol56
Trilostane218

The openFDA records give the value "MSK" for the brand name and for the manufacturer name of each drug. FDA says that MSK means "masked". So the site cannot count a report for a brand. A report can name more than one drug.

An API dataset query result cannot be used to estimate the risk associated with the product or compare one drug or device product with another.

The adverse event may have been related to an underlying disease, other drugs used at the same time or other non-drug related sources.

FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices

Ingredients, all combinations

The list has every active ingredient with 20 or more reports that list this sign, in order of name. It has 50 ingredients.

Show the 50 ingredients

Reports by species

The share is of the 2,618 reports that list this sign. The sign is in 0.2% of all reports about the species dog. The sign is in 0.1% of all reports about the species cat.

Reports by month and by year

Reports for each month, Jul 2021 to Jun 2026. The month is the month in which FDA received the report.

FDA says that a report can take 3 to 6 months to reach the public data. The newest months can get more reports in a later update.

Reports that list Distension of abdomen, by the year in which FDA received them
YearReports
202669
2025142
2024133
202385
202266
202176
202094
201990
2018102
2017130
2016125
2015119
2014104
2013132
2012144
201193
2010109
2009114
2008105
200797
2006103
200565
200482
200353
200224
200127
200056
199923
199828
199711
19962
19951
19942
19911
19896
19884
19871

What these reports record

Outcome at the time of the report

  • Reports with this sign
  • All reports
  • Recovered/Normal7.6%200, All reports: 20.7%
  • Recovered with Sequela[recovered, with a lasting effect]1.4%36, All reports: 2.3%
  • Ongoing14.4%378, All reports: 17.4%
  • Died26.4%692, All reports: 4.9%
  • Euthanized12.1%318, All reports: 1.5%
  • Outcome Unknown17.6%460, All reports: 22.7%

An outcome in a report is not proof that the drug caused it. The person who sends the report gives the outcome. Each share is of the 2,618 reports that list this sign.

Age of the animal

  • Reports with this sign
  • All reports
  • Under 1 year10.8%283, All reports: 9.5%
  • 1 to 3 years10%262, All reports: 23.9%
  • 4 to 7 years21%550, All reports: 20.2%
  • 8 to 11 years34.9%913, All reports: 15.4%
  • 12 years and over20%523, All reports: 10.7%
  • Age not given3.3%87, All reports: 20.3%

The outcome is for the full report, not for this sign only.

Next in the A to Z list of signs

All clinical signs

Cite this page

Pet Drug Reports. Distension of abdomen: adverse event reports for animal drugs. https://petdrugreports.com/reaction/distension-of-abdomen/ Source: FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, openFDA Animal and Veterinary adverse event reports, export of . Reports received through .

Where the data come from

The counts come from the openFDA Animal and Veterinary adverse event files, export of 30 Oct 2026. The files have the reports that the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine received through 26 Jun 2026. The files mask brand and manufacturer names. The site counts a drug by the active ingredients that each record gives, and gives no count to a brand, an application or a company. Ingredient names and the lists of approved products follow the FDA Green Book of 2 Nov 2026. The site counts the different spellings of one VeDDRA term together.

The site does not publish report text, lot numbers or details of a reporter. FDA's record is the authority. See how the site counts reports, the data sources and the corrections page.

Questions about this sign

What does this term mean in a report?

It is a term from VeDDRA, the list of terms that FDA and drug companies use to code a report. The person who coded the report selected the term.

How does the count of the latest 12 months compare with the 12 months before?

FDA received 136 reports in the 12 months to June 2026. It received 133 reports in the 12 months before. FDA says that a report can take 3 to 6 months to reach the public data. The newest months can get more reports in a later update.

How many of these reports have a serious flag?

Of the 1,566 reports that say if the event was serious, 74.5% have the serious flag. The person who sends a report sets the flag.

Does a drug in the table cause this sign?

The reports do not show that. A report can name more than one drug. FDA states this about the data.

When looking at the results, be aware that there is no certainty that the reported drug or device caused the adverse event.

The adverse event may have been related to an underlying disease, other drugs used at the same time or other non-drug related sources.

FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine. Source: Adverse Event Reports for Animal Drugs and Devices