Abstract

Objectives Bone marrow biopsies are essential for evaluating patients with suspected or confirmed hematopoietic disorders or malignancies, but little is known about how biopsy needle type affects biopsy length and/or quality. We sought to compare bone marrow biopsy quality in specimens obtained with two different needles. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on bone marrow specimens obtained with manual single-bevel (n = 114) or triple-bevel (n = 166) needles. The lengths of evaluable marrow, core quality, and aspirate quality were assessed by blinded hematopathologists. Results The triple-bevel needle produced 1.33-mm shorter lengths of evaluable marrow than the single-bevel needle and was five times less likely to produce a specimen rated as "adequate" and 4.2 times more likely to produce crush artifact. The triple-bevel needle was also 2.4 times more likely to produce hemodilute aspirates. Conclusions Bone marrow biopsy needle type affects the length of evaluable marrow and quality of core and aspirate specimens.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)194-197
Number of pages4
JournalAmerican journal of clinical pathology
Volume151
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 7 2019

Keywords

  • Hematopathology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Bone marrow biopsy needle type affects core biopsy specimen length and quality and aspirate hemodilution'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this