Hepatogastroenterology

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The current recommendation of ribavirin dose for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C is based on study results of Western patients, and might not be optimal for Korean patients because of different body frames. METHODOLOGY: A total of 163 treatment-naive genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C patients who received combination therapy with pegylated interferon a-2a and ribavirin were reviewed. RESULTS: Under current ribavirin dosing, only 49% of patients started therapy with ribavirin dose of 13-15mg/kg (targeted dose), while 45% and 6% of patients started therapy with ribavirin dose =16mg/kg and