It’s highly advisable not to mix Truvada and Stribild. Coadministering may increase the chances of serious drug interactions, causing health problems.
Truvada belongs to the NRTI drug class. It’s a top choice recommended for HIV prevention as well as treatment. Truvada has tenofovir-DF and emtricitabine as the two active substances.
As a prescription med, it’s used as an anti-HIV treatment in combination with other antiretroviral medicines. In addition, it’s used alone as PrEP (to prevent virus acquisition) or coadministered with other ARV drugs as PEP (after a possible virus exposure) [1], [2].
Stribild is a highly potent drug used to combat HIV/AIDS [3]. It’s very effective in preventing the virus from multiplying in the body and slowing down the destruction of the immune function. It can also be used as PEP [4].
Stribild is a 3 antiretrovirals and 1 booster in 1 tablet. It’s usually prescribed to treatment-naïve patients.
This med includes emtricitabine, cobicistat, elvitegravir, and tenofovir as active substances. Elvitegravir is an integrase inhibitor, while cobicistat is a booster that helps elvitegravir function better. Emtricitabine and tenofovir are both NRTIs.
Although the quality of evidence is very low, coadministering these two meds is not recommended. Both Truvada and Stribild contain tenofovir DF and emtricitabine.
Use of cobicistat and tenofovir may increase the risk for tenofovir-related renal adverse effects such as elevated creatinine, Fanconi syndrome, and renal impairment or failure. Cobicistat may also raise the plasma concentrations of emtricitabine (or antiretroviral agents) and increase the risk of negative effects [5].
From this evidence, cobicistat is not recommended in patients with CrCl less than 70 mL/min. If there should be any coadministered, dose adjustment based on renal function and monitoring are required.