Drug Database: Efavirenz / Emtricitabine / Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate

What is Atripla?

Atripla is a prescription medicine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of HIV infection in adults and children who weigh at least 88 lb (40 kg). Atripla can be used alone as a complete treatment regimen or with other HIV medicines.

Atripla contains three different HIV medicines: efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.

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

HIV medicines cannot cure HIV/AIDS, but taking HIV medicines every day helps people with HIV live longer, healthier lives. HIV medicines also reduce the risk of HIV transmission. If you are taking HIV medicines, do not cut down on, skip, or stop taking them unless your health care provider tells you to.

What should I tell my health care provider before taking Atripla?

Before taking Atripla, tell your health care provider:

• If you are allergic to any of the HIV medicines in Atripla (efavirenz, emtricitabine, or tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) or any other medicines.
• If you have liver problems, including hepatitis B virus infection (HBV) or hepatitis C virus infection (HCV).
• If you have heart problems.
• If you have ever had a mental health problem.
• If you have a history of drug or alcohol abuse.
• If you have nervous system problems.
• If you have kidney problems or receive kidney dialysis treatment.
• If you have bone problems.
• If you have ever had a seizure or if you take medicine to treat seizures.
• If you have any other medical conditions.
• If you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Talk to your health care provider about the risks and benefits of taking Atripla during pregnancy. For more information on the use of Atripla 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 breast/chestfeeding or plan to breast/chestfeed. For people with HIV in the United States, the Guideline recommends speaking with your health care provider to discuss options for feeding your baby. People with suppressed viral load have a less than 1% chance of transmitting HIV to their baby via their own milk.
• If you are using hormone-based birth control (such as pills, implants, or vaginal rings). Your health care provider can help you decide how to adjust your birth control while you are taking Atripla. 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 you are taking or plan to take. Atripla may affect the way other medicines or products work, and other medicines or products may affect how Atripla works. Taking Atripla together with certain medicines or products may cause serious side effects.

How should I take Atripla?

Atripla comes in tablet form. Each tablet contains:

• 600 mg efavirenz
• 200 mg emtricitabine
• 300 mg tenofovir disoproxil fumarate

Take Atripla according to your health care provider’s instructions. Do not miss a dose of Atripla, and do not change your dose or stop taking Atripla without first talking with your health care provider.

Take Atripla by mouth and on an empty stomach, preferably at bedtime. Taking Atripla at bedtime might help to make some of the side effects less bothersome.

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

For more information on how to take Atripla, see the FDA drug label.

What should I do if I forget a dose?

If you miss a dose of Atripla, 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 just take your next dose at the regular time. Do not take two doses at the same time to make up for a missed dose.

What side effects can Atripla cause?

Atripla may cause side effects. Some side effects of Atripla can be serious as noted above. Many side effects from HIV medicines, such as nausea or occasional dizziness, are manageable. See the HIVinfo fact sheet on HIV Medicines and Side Effects for more information.

• Nervous system problems, including dizziness, trouble concentrating, abnormal dreams, unusually happy mood, agitation, thought problems, slow thoughts and physical movement, problems sleeping, excessive sleepiness or difficulty awakening, hallucinations, confusion, memory problems, and lack of coordination or balance.
• Bone problems, including bone pain, or softening or thinning of the bones (osteopenia), which may lead to fractures.
• Seizures, which are more likely to happen if you have had seizures in the past.
• 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. 
• Changes in body fat (lipodystrophy syndrome).

Tell your health care provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

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

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

How should Atripla be stored?

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

Where can I find more information about Atripla?

• For more information on the use of Atripla in people with HIV, please refer to the Guidelines for the Use of Antiretroviral Agents in Adults and Adolescents Living 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). The Patient Package Insert includes information for people taking Atripla.
• The American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) Patient Medication Information for efavirenz, emtricitabine, and tenofovir available from MedlinePlus.
• Atripla-related research studies, from ClinicalTrials.gov. (The ClinicalTrials.gov search can be modified so that you can get results that better match your interests. To learn more about the ClinicalTrials.gov search features, please see How to Search.)
• A list of FDA-approved HIV medicines, from HIVinfo.