Ribavirin dosing in chronic hepatitis C: application of population pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic models.

Background: Combination therapy of ribavirin with interferon alfa-2b and pegylated interferon alfa-2b is currently approved for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Approved ribavirin dosages vary from a fixed dosage of 800 mg/d to as much as 1200 mg/d on the basis of body weight.

Objective: Our objective was to evaluate ribavirin dosing strategies by comparison of their relative efficacy and toxicity profiles.