Pet Drug Reports

Reported signs

Reported sign · legacy FDA term

Ineffective, antibiotic: reports listing this term

In plain language: legacy FDA term: the product did not have the expected effect (antibiotic)

596reports listing the term, 2015–20210% of all reports
0reports, 12 months to March 20260 in the 12 months before
41.7%classed serious, as reportedall reports: 38.6%
37.4%of these reports concern cattledog 34.9%

"Ineffective, antibiotic" (legacy FDA term: the product did not have the expected effect (antibiotic)) is a coded term listed in 596 adverse event reports received by FDA, 0% of the database. It is a legacy FDA term from before the VeDDRA dictionary was adopted, so it appears mostly in older reports.

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 cefovecin sodium, ceftiofur crystalline free acid and oclacitinib. 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.

37.4% of the reports concern cattle, 34.9% of the reports concern dogs and 23.8% of the reports concern cats. Of reports listing this term that state seriousness, 41.7% were classed as serious; 26.3% 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
Cefovecin sodium1921.4%
Ceftiofur Crystalline Free Acid793.7%
Oclacitinib560.2%
Amoxicillin Trihydrate + Clavulanate Potassium551%
Cephapirin Sodium515.9%
Cefpodoxime proxetil491.2%
Tildipirosin315.9%
Marbofloxacin271.5%
Amoxicillin + Clavulanate Potassium150.6%
Chlortetracycline Calcium Complex1519%
Tylosin Tartrate142.7%
Tylosin131.1%
Selamectin120%
Enrofloxacin110.1%
Buprenorphine90.1%
Doxycycline90.2%
Prednisolone90.3%
Prednisone90.1%
Meloxicam80%
Tilmicosin81.6%
Amoxicillin70.1%
Methylprednisolone Acetate70.3%
Bacitracin61.4%
Fluralaner60%
Carprofen50%

Ordered by number of reports, which mostly tracks how many reports a drug has overall. Across the whole database the term appears in 0% 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
Cefovecin sodium1921.4%
Ceftiofur Crystalline Free Acid793.7%
Clavulanate Potassium700.9%
Oclacitinib560.2%
Amoxicillin Trihydrate550.9%
Cephapirin Sodium515.9%
Cefpodoxime proxetil491.2%
Tildipirosin315.9%
Marbofloxacin271.5%
Amoxicillin200.2%
Chlortetracycline Calcium Complex1516.9%
Tylosin Tartrate142.3%
Selamectin130%
Tylosin131%
Enrofloxacin110.1%
Oxytetracycline110.6%
Prednisolone110.2%
Buprenorphine90.1%
Doxycycline90.2%
Florfenicol90.1%
Prednisone90.1%
Meloxicam80%
Tilmicosin81.6%
Methylprednisolone Acetate70.3%
Bacitracin61.2%

Species split

Cattle37.4%223
Dog34.9%208
Cat23.8%142
Chicken2.3%14
Pig0.7%4

Coloured bar: share of reports listing this term. Grey bar: the species' share of all reports. The term appears in 0.7% of all cattle reports; The term appears in 0% of all dog reports.

Trend

011Apr 2021: 0May 2021: 0Jun 2021: 0Jul 2021: 0Aug 2021: 0Sep 2021: 0Oct 2021: 0Nov 2021: 0Dec 2021: 0Jan 2022: 02022Feb 2022: 0Mar 2022: 0Apr 2022: 0May 2022: 0Jun 2022: 0Jul 2022: 0Aug 2022: 0Sep 2022: 0Oct 2022: 0Nov 2022: 0Dec 2022: 0Jan 2023: 02023Feb 2023: 0Mar 2023: 0Apr 2023: 0May 2023: 0Jun 2023: 0Jul 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. Legacy terms fade from recent years because new reports are coded in VeDDRA.

0991972015: 120152016: 1320162017: 19720172018: 16420182019: 16420192020: 5620202021: 12021

Outcomes and ages in these reports

Outcome recorded in the report

Recovered/Normal12.9%77
Recovered with Sequela0.5%3
Ongoing43.6%260
Died23.2%138
Euthanized3.7%22
Outcome Unknown35.6%212

Age of the animal

Under 1 year17.1%102
1 to 3 years15.1%90
4 to 7 years17.1%102
8 to 11 years14.6%87
12 years and over9.9%59
Age not given26.2%156
MeasureReports listing this termAll reports
Reports5961,357,245
Classed serious, of reports stating it41.7%38.6%
Death or euthanasia recorded, per 1,000 reports263.463.8

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 "Ineffective, antibiotic"

What does "Ineffective, antibiotic" mean in an adverse event report?

In plain language: legacy FDA term: the product did not have the expected effect (antibiotic). It is a legacy FDA 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 ineffective, antibiotic?

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

Which drugs are named most often alongside this term?

By active ingredient: cefovecin sodium (192), ceftiofur crystalline free acid (79), oclacitinib (56), amoxicillin trihydrate + clavulanate potassium (55) and cephapirin sodium (51). Drugs with many reports overall lead almost every term's list. Brands cannot be identified: openFDA masks them.

Which species are involved?

cattle (37.4%), dog (34.9%), cat (23.8%) and chicken (2.3%).

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.