To investigate the epidemiology of hepatitis B and C viruses infections in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients in Shanxi Province from 2010 to 2014 for the sake of contributing data support to the implementation of continuous quality improvement of hemodialysis.

Retrospective analysis was made from straight-line report of clinical data of MHD patients by all the medical institutions that carry out blood purification treatment in Shanxi Province from 2010 to 2014. The main collection was comprised of the patients′ demographic data and serological indicators related to HBV and HCV. A variety of data collection was completed from registered cases of the nationwide blood purification system. After data sorting, a database was established with software Excell 2003 for data analysis.

From 2010 to 2014, the detection rates for HBV and HCV in MHD patients increased year by year, from 66.3% to 74.6% and from 64.9% to 71.4%, respectively. The infection rate of HBV decreased year by year, from 20.9% to 17.7%; and the HBsAg positive rates also decreased annually, being 5.1% in 2010, and declining to 3.6% gradually by 2013, which in 2014 was 3.7% close to that in 2013. The infection rate of HCV also dropped annually, from 6.15% to 3.24%. Each year, the rates of HBV infection and HBsAg positiveness in the male hemodialysis patients were both higher than those in the female patients, but the differences reduced gradually; and each year, the infection rate of HCV in the female patients was higher than that in the male patients, and the difference reduced gradually. In the new entrants for hemodialysis from 2011, with the dialysis duration increased in past four years, the rates of HBsAg positiveness and HCV infection did not obviously change.

From the year of 2010 to 2014 in Shanxi Province, the infection rates of HBV and HCV in the MHD patients declined annually, which might be attributed to the sharp improvement in standard management of dialysis rooms and the widespread use of disposable dialyzers in recent years.