Objective@#
Bone marrow (BM) examinations are performed to evaluate hematological
abnormalities. Focusing on
patients with
cytopenia, we aimed to determine the circumstances under which a BM examination can assist in the
diagnosis of
hematologic diseases. @*
Methods@#The
medical records of 738
patients who underwent BM examination from March 2011 to March 2019 at Soonchunhyang
University Seoul Hospital were reviewed. In total, 234
patients underwent a BM examination to identify the cause of
cytopenia. Excluded from the
analysis were BM examinations performed to
diagnose specific
diseases and evaluate
disease status. @*Results@#Results suggesting suboptimal outcome (n=6) or BM invasion of solid
tumors (n=13) were excluded.
Immune thrombocytopenic purpura patients (n=52) with normal BM examination results were also excluded. One hundred sixty-three
patients who underwent BM examination to determine the cause of
cytopenia were included in the
analysis. A comparison of non-specific results (n=56) to those pointing to an underlying
hematologic disease (n=107) showed that
patients with severe
neutropenia or severe
thrombocytopenia were more likely to be diagnosed with a
hematologic disease. Specifically, as the number of severe
cytopenias increased, the likelihood of a
hematologic disease diagnosis was significantly augmented.
Patients with
end-stage renal disease,
autoimmune disease, or
liver cirrhosis were more likely to receive non-specific results. @*Conclusion@#In conclusion, seeking the underlying
disease or
drug should be a primary target for
patients with
cytopenia. In cases of severe
cytopenia in more than one lineage, BM examination should be strongly considered to
diagnose an underlying
hematologic disease.