I've been HIV+ for 9 years. My T cells have been hovering around 1000+, lowest t cell count was 452 and viral load has been undetectable (<50 copies)for at least 5 years. My doctor wants to have me come in every 4-6 months to have blood drawn for viral load, T cell, etc. I have heard you should have labs done every 3 months. Is there any established guidelines for how often blood draws/labs are to be done?

I will assume that you have undetectable viral load and high T cells on antiretroviral therapy. In this situation most would recommend that testing be performed every 3-4 months, but to be honest with you this is more art than science and there probably is room for flexibility in those who have been tolerating and stable on a given regimen for prolonged periods of time. I would encourage you to discuss this with your provider. S/he can share the rationale for less frequent testing and you can provide input as to your comfort level. The main goal is to make sure the medications are tolerated and being taken consistently as well as that viral load remains suppressed on treatment. It is important that if virologic failure occurs it is identified as early as possible. That said, the likelihood of failure probably goes down with time in those suppressed for many years.

If you are not on antiretroviral therapy you would want to make sure you are truly infected, and if so discuss with your provider the optimal follow-up. In this case I would feel even more comfortable with less frequent follow-up, such as 4-6 months since progression is going to be be very slow and there is no concern regarding the emergence of drug resistance. But again, little science here and what is most important is what makes you and your provider most comfortable.

Best, Eric