Abstract: Objects To investigate the differences of the contamination on hemodialyzer surface before and after a hemodialysis session, and before and after the wipe and disinfection following the current administration rules for infection control. Methods The wipe and disinfection procedures defined in the Current Stipulation for Hemodialysis Quality Control were strictly carried out in the hemodialysis center, in which two sessions per hemodialyzer were conducted in a workday. Bacterial cultures were performed for samples taken from the 33 hemodialyzer before hemodialysis sessions in the morning and after the sessions in the afternoon. The bacterial culture results were evaluated following the published standards. Results The overall negative rate was 96.2%. Samples taken before dialysis sessions in the morning and in the afternoon were all negative, while those taken after dialysis sessions before wipe and disinfection were negative in 93.9% samples in the morning and in 90.9% samples in the afternoon. The number of bacterial colonies in samples taken before dialysis sessions was significantly different from that taken after sessions (P＜0.05). Although the number of bacterial colonies had no statistical difference between samples taken before and after the wipe and disinfection procedure, the negative rate reached to 100% after the procedure. Conclusion The wipe and disinfection procedure following the Current Stipulation for Hemodialysis Quality Control and performed between every hemodialysis session was proved to be essential and effective.

Key words: Hemodialysis machine, Wipe and disinfection