Sternum: a useful but forgotten site for bone marrow aspiration

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to evaluate the usefulness of sternal puncture for bone marrow examination when posterior superior iliac spine was not approachable. Case series. The study was carried out from Sep 2008 till Feb 2009 at Haematology Department, Army Medical College /Military Hospital Rawalpindi. Sternal puncture was performed on 12 patients where PSIS/ASIS were not accessible due to patients condition/ disease. The diagnosis was possible in all the patients and the reports were intimated within a few hours of carrying out the procedure. Indications for sternal puncture were non accessibility of PSIS/ASIS due to obesity, bed sores, anasarca, skin lesions and patients on ventilators. No complications were seen. Sternum is as good as other sites of bone marrow examination especially in critically ill patients who cannot undergo conventional bone marrow aspiration