Emtriva® (FTC, Emtricitabine)
Who should take this?
Emtriva can be taken by people infected with HIV as young as three months of age.
How is it taken? / Dosage
Emtricitabine comes as a capsule and a solution (liquid) to take by mouth. It is usually taken once a day with or without food.
To make sure that Emtriva is effective and to prevent drug resistance, it is important to take this drug exactly as prescribed. Missing doses or not taking emtricitabine will make HIV harder to treat.
Side Effects
Drugs like emtricitabine have caused serious damage to the liver. People who have or have had liver disease should tell their doctors before taking Emtriva. This drug should not be used to treat hepatitis B.
People who have hepatitis B and stop taking emtricitabine, may suddenly get worse if they stop taking emtricitabine. A doctor may do a test to see if the hepatitis B virus is present before prescribing Emtriva.
Emtriva can cause lactic acidosis, when used alone or with other drugs to treat HIV or AIDS. It can also cause changes in where fat is on the body (lipodystrophy and buffalo hump).
Emtricitabine may cause side effects, including:
- Dark yellow or brown urine
- Depression
- Diarrhea
- Dizziness or light-headedness
- Extreme tiredness
- Fast or irregular heartbeat
- Feeling cold, especially in the arms or legs
- Headache
- Indigestion
- Joint pain
- Light-colored bowel movements
- Loss of appetite
- Muscle pain that is unusual
- Numbness, burning or tingling in the hands, arms, feet, or legs
- Runny nose
- Stomach pain
- Trouble breathing
- Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
- Unusual dreams
- Upset stomach
- Vomiting
- Weakness
- Yellowing of the skin or eyes
Drug Interactions
Studies have demonstrated that Emtriva is effective for the treatment of HIV when combined with other anti-HIV drugs, usually at least one other nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTI) and either a protease inhibitor or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI). Emtriva should not be taken alone or with just one other anti-HIV drug.
Emtriva should not be taken at the same time as Epivir® or other combination tablets that contain Epivir (for example, Epzicom®, Combivir®, or Trizivir®). This is because both drugs are very similar and it is not believed that combining these two anti-HIV drugs will make a regimen any more effective against the virus.
Resistance
Prolonged use of Emtriva can cause certain changes or mutations in HIV structure to occur. Some mutations will prevent Emtriva from working against HIV. The key mutation that causes resistance to Emtriva can cause the virus to be at least partially resistant to other NRTIs, including Ziagen® (abacavir) and Hivid® (ddC), and will likely prevent the NRTI Epivir from working at all against the virus. However, Emtriva resistance might make the virus even more sensitive to other NRTIs, most notably Retrovir® and Viread®.
Emtriva will not likely be effective for people who have already taken and become resistant to Epivir. This is because one of the key changes, or mutations, in HIV's genetic structure that occurs as a result of Epivir therapy also causes resistance to Emtriva.
