Assessment of the Efficacy of Reducing Peginterferon Alfa-2a and Ribavirin Dose on Virologic Response in Koreans with Chronic Hepatitis C

• Published in: The Korean journal of internal medicine 2009, 24(3), , pp.203-211
• Main Authors: Kwon, Jung Hyun, Bae, Si Hyun, Choi, Jong Young, Yoon, Seung Kew, Byun, Kwan Soo, Paik, Seung Woon, Lim, Young Suk, Lee, Han Chu, Han, Kwang Hyub, Lee, Kwan Sik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Original; 내과학
• ISSN: 1226-3303; 2005-6648
• DOI: 10.3904/kjim.2009.24.3.203

Background/Aims: The virologic response of Koreans to combination therapy for chronic hepatitis C is similar to westerns; however, dose modification occurs more frequently in Koreans. We evaluated the rates of peginterferonα-2a and ribavirin dose modifications and their effect on the virologic response in Koreans. Methods: Patients with detectable HCV RNA and enrolled from multicenters were treated with peginterferon α-2a (180 ㎍/week) and ribavirin (800 ㎎/day) for 24 weeks (genotype non-1, n=37) or peginterferon α-2a (180 ㎍/week) and ribavirin (1,000-1,200 ㎎/day) for 48 weeks (genotype 1, n=55). Results: Early virologic response (EVR) and sustained virologic response (SVR) were 77.2% (genotype 1, 75%; non-1, 81%) and 66.3% (genotype 1, 56%; non-1, 81%), respectively. The frequency of dose modification was32.6% within the first 12 weeks and 52.2% during the entire treatment period. No difference was found in SVR regardless of dose modification. However, the SVR for patients using ≥80% of the peginterferon dose was significantly higher than for those using