The optimal frequency of viral load sampling during supervised treatment interruptions.

a) We calculate sampling times such that the probability of viral rebound between each test is equal and small—either 5% (dark blue line) or 10% (red line). These times are then transformed into intervals and expressed as the number of recommended samples per month. For these results we use the same prior distribution for the reservoir size as Fig 2a. The recommended frequency starts off low, before jumping to high values, because even without any reservoir-reduction, rebound rarely occurs within the first two weeks in patients who have been on suppressive cART. More frequent initial monitoring may be advisable if it is suspected that patients were not suppressed before interruption. b) A simplified sampling scheme that involves only regular intervals and assures less than 5% chance of failure between measures.