Drug Database: Abacavir / Dolutegravir / Lamivudine

What are Triumeq and Triumeq PD?What are Triumeq and Triumeq PD?

What are Triumeq and Triumeq PD?

Triumeq and Triumeq PD are prescription medicines approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of HIV infection in adults and children.

Triumeq and Triumeq PD can be used alone as a complete treatment regimen in people who meet certain requirements, as determined by a health care provider. In people who have resistance to certain types of HIV medicines, Triumeq and Triumeq PD should not be used by itself.

Triumeq and Triumeq PD contain three different medicines: abacavir, dolutegravir, and lamivudine.

For more information on the use of Triumeq or Triumeq PD in people with HIV, please refer to the Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Adults and Adolescents With HIV and the Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Pediatric HIV Infection.

HIV medicines cannot cure HIV, but using HIV medicines as directed by a health care provider helps people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. HIV medicines also reduce the risk of HIV transmission. If you are using HIV medicines, do not cut down on, skip, or stop using them unless your health care provider tells you to. For more information about using your HIV medicines as prescribed and ways to overcome barriers to medication adherence, please read the HIVinfo fact sheet on HIV Treatment Adherence.

What should I tell my health care provider before taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD?What should I tell my health care provider before taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD?

What should I tell my health care provider before taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD?

Before taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD, tell your health care provider:

• If you are allergic to any of the HIV medicines in Triumeq or Triumeq PD (abacavir, dolutegravir, or lamivudine) or any other medicines.
• If you have been tested and know whether you have a particular gene variation called HLA-B*5701.
• If you have ever had liver problems, including hepatitis B virus infection (HBV) or hepatitis C virus infection (HCV).
• If you have kidney problems.
• If you have heart problems; smoke; or have diseases that increase your risk of heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.
• If you have any other medical conditions.
• If you drink alcohol or take medicines that contain alcohol.
• If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Talk to your health care provider about the benefits and risks of taking Triumeq during pregnancy. For more information on the use of Triumeq during pregnancy, please refer to the Recommendations for the Use of Antiretroviral Drugs During Pregnancy and Interventions to Reduce Perinatal HIV Transmission in the United States.
• If you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. For mothers with HIV in the United States, the Guideline recommends speaking with your health care provider to discuss options for feeding your baby. Mothers with suppressed viral load have a less than 1% chance of transmitting HIV to their baby via their own milk. Although most medicines are safe to use while breastfeeding, some medicines should be avoided. Always let your health care provider know about all the medicines and supplements you are using before you start breastfeeding.
• If you are using hormone-based birth control (such as injections, vaginal rings, implants, contraceptive patches, or birth control pills). For more information about using birth control and HIV medicines at the same time, view the HIVinfo HIV and Birth Control infographic.
• About other prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products (including St. John’s wort) you are taking or plan to take.

How should I take Triumeq or Triumeq PD?How should I take Triumeq or Triumeq PD?

How should I take Triumeq or Triumeq PD?

Triumeq and Triumeq PD come in the following forms and strengths:

• Triumeq tablets: 600 mg abacavir, 50 mg dolutegravir, 300 mg lamivudine
• Triumeq PD tablets for oral suspension: 60 mg abacavir, 5 mg dolutegravir, 30 mg lamivudine

Take Triumeq or Triumeq PD according to your health care provider’s instructions. Do not miss a dose of Triumeq or Triumeq PD, and do not change your dose or stop taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD without first talking with your health care provider. While taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD, it is important to keep all your appointments with your health care provider.

Take Triumeq or Triumeq PD by mouth and with or without food. Do not chew, cut, or crush Triumeq tablets or Triumeq PD tablets for oral suspension. Do not swallow Triumeq PD tablets for oral suspension whole.

If you are taking any other medicines, supplements, antacids, or laxatives that contain magnesium, aluminum, zinc, calcium, or iron, carefully follow instructions on how to take them with Triumeq or Triumeq PD.

Your child’s healthcare provider will decide whether your child should take Triumeq or Triumeq PD based on your child’s weight. Tell your health care provider if your child's weight changes.

Triumeq PD tablets for oral suspension should be dispersed in drinking water only. Do not use any other drink or food to prepare the dose. For information about the correct way to prepare and give a dose of Triumeq PD tablets for oral suspension, read the “Instructions for Use” that come with the medicine and appear at the bottom of the Triumeq and Triumeq PD drug label.

Triumeq tablets are not the same as Triumeq PD tablets for oral suspension and cannot be substituted for each other. Check to make sure you receive the correct dosage form each time you or your child’s prescription is filled.

If you have taken too much Triumeq or Triumeq PD, contact your health care provider or local poison control center (1-800-222-1222 or online) right away, or go to the nearest hospital emergency room.

For more information on how to take Triumeq or Triumeq PD, see the FDA drug label.

What should I do if I forget a dose?What should I do if I forget a dose?

What should I do if I forget a dose?

If you miss a dose of Triumeq or Triumeq PD, take the missed dose as soon as you remember it. But if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take the next dose at your regular time. Do not take two doses at the same time to make up for a missed dose.

If you miss several doses of Triumeq or Triumeq PD, contact your health care provider before taking it again. Taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD again after missing doses, even for a few days, can cause a serious allergic reaction. If your health care provider tells you that you can take Triumeq or Triumeq PD again, start taking it when you are around medical help or people who can call a health care provider if you need one.

What side effects can Triumeq or Triumeq PD cause?What side effects can Triumeq or Triumeq PD cause?

What side effects can Triumeq or Triumeq PD cause?

Triumeq or Triumeq PD may cause side effects. Many side effects from HIV medicines, such as Triumeq and Triumeq PD, are temporary or manageable. See the HIVinfo fact sheet on HIV Medicines and Side Effects for more information. Some side effects of Triumeq or Triumeq PD can be serious, as described below.

Important warnings:

• Serious allergic reactions. Triumeq and Triumeq PD contain abacavir, an HIV medicine. People who take abacavir-containing products, including Triumeq and Triumeq PD, may have a serious allergic reaction (hypersensitivity reaction) that can cause death. Your risk of this allergic reaction is much higher if you have a gene variation called HLA-B*5701. Your health care provider can determine with a blood test if you have this gene variation.

  If you get a symptom from two or more of the following groups while taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD, contact your health care provider right away to find out if you should stop taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD.

  • Group 1 Symptoms: Fever
  • Group 2 Symptoms: Rash
  • Group 3 Symptoms: Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, stomach/abdominal pain
  • Group 4 Symptoms: General ill feeling (malaise), extreme tiredness, or achiness
  • Group 5 Symptoms: Shortness of breath, cough, sore throat

  Your pharmacist will give you a Warning Card with a list of these symptoms. Carry this Warning Card with you at all times.

  If you stop taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD because of an allergic reaction, never take Triumeq or Triumeq PD or any other medicine that contains abacavir or dolutegravir again. If you take Triumeq or Triumeq PD or any other abacavir-containing medicine again after you have had an allergic reaction, within hours you may get life-threatening symptoms that may include very low blood pressure or death. If you stop Triumeq or Triumeq PD for any other reason, even for a few days, and you are not allergic to Triumeq or Triumeq PD, talk with your health care provider before taking it again. Taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD again can cause a serious allergic or life-threatening reaction, even if you never had an allergic reaction to Triumeq or Triumeq PD before.

  If your health care provider tells you that you can take Triumeq or Triumeq PD again, start taking it when you are around medical help or people who can call a health care provider if you need one.

• Worsening of hepatitis B virus infection (HBV). Your health care provider will test you for HBV before you start treatment with Triumeq or Triumeq PD. If you have both HIV and HBV and take Triumeq or Triumeq PD, your HBV may get worse (flare-up) if you stop taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD. Do not stop taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD without first talking with your health care provider. If you stop taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD, you will need blood tests regularly for several months to check your liver function and monitor your HBV.
  
• Resistant hepatitis B virus. If you take Triumeq or Triumeq PD and have both HIV and HBV, the hepatitis B virus can change (mutate) during treatment with Triumeq or Triumeq PD and become harder to treat (resistant). You may need to take additional treatment for HBV if you have HIV and HBV and take Triumeq or Triumeq PD.
  

Other possible serious side effects:

• Changes in your immune system (called immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome or IRIS). IRIS is a condition that sometimes occurs when the immune system begins to recover after treatment with an HIV medicine. As the immune system gets stronger, it may have an increased response to a previously hidden infection.
• Increased risk of heart attack (myocardial infarction). Abacavir, a medicine contained in Triumeq and Triumeq PD, may increase the risk of a heart attack. The risk may be higher in people who smoke or have diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol.
• Liver problems. Rarely, some people taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD may develop liver problems. People with a history of hepatitis B virus infection (HBV) or hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) may have an increased risk of developing new or worsening liver problems while taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD. Liver function tests may be done before and during treatment with Triumeq. Contact your health care provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms: yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes (jaundice); dark-colored urine; light-colored bowel movements; loss of appetite for several days or longer; nausea or vomiting; pain, aching, or tenderness on the right side of your stomach/abdominal area; or itching.
• A buildup of lactic acid in the blood (lactic acidosis). Lactic acidosis is a serious but very uncommon occurrence. Contact your health care provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms: unusual weakness or tiredness; unusual muscle pain; shortness of breath or fast breathing; stomach pain with nausea and vomiting; cold or blue hands and feet; dizziness or lightheadedness; or fast or abnormal heartbeat.
• Lactic acidosis may also lead to severe liver problems. In rare cases, severe liver problems associated with lactic acidosis may occur. Contact your health care provider right away if you develop any of the symptoms of liver problems listed above.

Tell your health care provider if you have any side effects that bother you or that do not go away.

These are not all the possible side effects of Triumeq and Triumeq PD. To learn more about possible side effects of Triumeq and Triumeq PD, read the drug label or package insert or talk to your health care provider or pharmacist.

You can report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 (1-800-332-1088) or online.

What medicines can interact with Triumeq or Triumeq PD?What medicines can interact with Triumeq or Triumeq PD?

What medicines can interact with Triumeq or Triumeq PD?

HIV medicines may interact with other medicines and supplements. Before starting Triumeq or Triumeq PD, tell your health care provider about all the prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products (including St. John's wort) you are taking or plan to take. Other medicines or products may affect how Triumeq and Triumeq PD work, and Triumeq and Triumeq PD may affect the way other medicines or products work. Taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD together with certain medicines or products may cause serious side effects.

For a list of medicines that may interact with Triumeq and Triumeq PD, see the drug label or ask your health care provider or pharmacist. You can also look up potential interactions between your HIV medicines and other drugs using the HIV Drug Interaction Checker online.

How should Triumeq or Triumeq PD be stored?How should Triumeq or Triumeq PD be stored?

How should Triumeq or Triumeq PD be stored?

• Store Triumeq and Triumeq PD at room temperature, 68°F to 77°F (20°C to 25°C).
• Keep Triumeq and Triumeq PD in the container that it came in and keep the container tightly closed and protected from moisture. If the container has a small packet of drying agent (called a desiccant), do not remove it. Do not eat the desiccant. The desiccant protects the medicine from moisture.
• Do not use Triumeq or Triumeq PD if the original seal over the container opening is broken or missing.
• Throw away Triumeq or Triumeq PD that is no longer needed or expired (out of date). Follow FDA guidelines on how to safely dispose of unused medicine.
• Keep Triumeq, Triumeq PD, and all medicines out of reach of children.

Where can I find more information about Triumeq or Triumeq PD?Where can I find more information about Triumeq or Triumeq PD?

Where can I find more information about Triumeq or Triumeq PD?

• For more information on the use of Triumeq or Triumeq PD in people with HIV, please refer to the Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Adults and Adolescents With HIV and the Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Pediatric HIV Infection.
• This Patient Version drug summary is based on the following FDA label(s): Tablet (film coated), kit (tablet for oral suspension). The Medication Guide and Instructions For Use include information for people taking Triumeq or Triumeq PD.
• The American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) Patient Medication Information for abacavir, dolutegravir, and lamivudine available from MedlinePlus.
• Triumeq- and Triumeq PD-related research studies, from ClinicalTrials.gov. (The ClinicalTrials.gov search can be modified so that you can get results that better match your interests.)
• A list of FDA-approved HIV medicines, from HIVinfo.