Truvada and Isentress are among the top first-choice options recommended for treatment-naïve HIV patients. From a clinical test, there is no significant interaction between the two meds when coadministered together. Nonetheless, it’s very important to consult with a medical specialist whether you should take Truvada and Isentress at the same time.
Truvada (having emtricitabine and tenofovir DF as active ingredients) is an anti-HIV med from the NRTI class that works to treat and prevent HIV infection. It is highly effective as an HIV remedy in combination with another ARV medicine. Furthermore, Truvada is widely known as a PrEP drug used alone to prevent HIV acquisition, and as a post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) remedy in combination with other medicine from the integrase inhibitor class. It’s a prescription drug that is taken orally [1].
Isentress (containing the active substance raltegravir) is an antiretroviral med used together with other ARV medicines to prevent HIV from multiplying in the body. It belongs to an integrase strand transfer inhibitor (also called INSTI) class of drugs. Although these tabs are highly active against viral replication, it is important to remember that they don’t cure HIV/AIDS.
Research shows, that Isentress in combination with NRTIs, such as Truvada, is effective as a part of post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent or lower the chance of HIV infection following possible exposure. Raltegravir can also be used in combination with lamivudine as PrEP. A doctor’s advice and prescription are highly recommended [2].
There is no clinical interaction between emtricitabine and raltegravir. Coadministration of Isentress and tenofovir-DF had no effect on raltegravir Cmin. Nonetheless, this combination raises Isentress Cmax (by 64%) and AUC (by 49%); there is a decrease of tenofovir AUC, Cmin, and Cmax by 10%, 13%, and 23% respectively [3].
With this clinical output, there is no dose adjustment needed when coadministering Truvada with raltegravir twice or once daily. This is because the interaction does not alter the pharmacokinetics of medicine to a clinically significant degree.