Assessment of adverse reactions and pharmacokinetics of ribavirin in combination with interferon alpha-2b in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Ribavirin has recently been demonstrated to be efficacious in combination with interferon (IFN) alpha-2b for the treatment of relapsed hepatitis C infections. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the pharmacokinetics and adverse reactions of ribavirin when ribavirin plus IFN alpha-2b were administered to patients affected with chronic hepatitis C. Nineteen patients received intramuscular IFN alpha-2b at a dose of 6 or 10 million units and oral ribavirin at 600 mg or 800 mg daily for 24 weeks.