The spectrum of haematological disorders from bone marrow aspiration cytology in a tertiary care centre

Background: Haematological disorders are quite frequent in all age groups. These have diverse modes of presentation that often require bone marrow aspiration (BMA) for both diagnosis and management. This simple and relatively safe procedure is important particularly in resource poor centres since access to adjuvant diagnostic techniques are often lacking. The present study aims to analyse the causes of haematological disorders, its spectrum, indications and interpretation of BMA findings. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective and prospective study carried out in Department of Pathology, Pt.BDS PGIMS Rohtak, India over a period of 16 months (January 2014 -April 2015). BMA of 879 cases of suspected haematological disorders was carried out. Records regarding the clinical indication for the procedure, peripheral blood smear reports, blood counts and significant findings on bone-marrow aspiration examination were retrieved. Results: Majority of the patients were children aged less than 15 years (37%). Male to female ratio was 1.07:1. The main indications for BMA included: anaemia (37%), diagnosis of leukemia (30%) and pancytopenia (9%). Most (87%) of the marrow aspirates examined had definite pathological features and rest were normal marrow elements. Anaemia with erythroid hyperplasia was the most common pathology, followed by megaloblastic anaemia and microcytic hypochromic anaemias. Conclusion: BMA is an important step and veritable tool to arrive at the confirmatory diagnosis of wide range of haematological disorders.