anti viral treatment

Dear Doctor,

Our friend is on Peg Interferon and Ribo.His using a viral load count that's 9 mos old, his doctor failed to order a new test before treatment.  He has no blood work in his file and has advised our friend to abruptly stop ribavirin all together as he has broken out in a horrible rash all over his body that is now scabing over.
I told him that non of my doctors have ever ask me to abruptly stop taking a drug, rather they want me to back me off slowly.  Would  you concur with that.

Thanks

[Thomas D Schiano, MD]

ribavirin is definitelt the cause of the rash.  whether one scales back the dose or stops it completely i think is dependent on the rash's severity.  would be helpful if we knew what the viral load was receiving therapy.