Sample size estimation
Patient sample size was determined based on previous data8. The size estimate was calculated on the standard deviation of the difference in viral load between the baseline and each experimental timepoint. A power of 90%, a two-sided significance level of 0.05, and a minimum of at least a 1-log detectable difference between each timepoint were adopted, which resulted in 30 patients in each group. Applying a 20% dropout rate, 35 patients were selected for each group.