Bone Marrow Granulomas: A Retrospective Study of 47 Cases (A Single Centre Experience)

Abstract

Background: Granulomas in bone marrow are an infrequent finding; however several diseases may be associated with granuloma formation and an etiologic diagnosis is essential. Bone marrow examination plays an important role in the diagnosis of various disorders associated with bone marrow granulomas and is useful in the investigation of pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) as it leads to an etiological diagnosis in many of the cases. Aim: This study was undertaken to ascertain the frequency and etiological background of bone marrow granulomas. Material and methods: In the present study, forty seven cases with bone marrow granulomas were included. Clinical details, peripheral blood and marrow morphological findings were analyzed. Results: Pyrexia of unknown origin was the commonest presentation and anemia was noted in all cases. Twenty five cases had associated clinical conditions, including 7 with past history of tuberculosis and 8 with retroviral disease. Of the 47 cases, 7 showed granulomas in bone marrow aspiration, while bone marrow biopsy was diagnostic in all cases. Caseous necrosis was seen in 11(23.4%) cases. Acid fast bacilli were demonstrated in one bone marrow aspirate. Culture studies grew Brucella organisms in one case. Tuberculosis was the commonest in the present study as compared to other studies probably due to the endemicity of tuberculosis in this region. Conclusion: If the granuloma is associated with caseous necrosis and Langhan giant cells and correlated with clinical features, a possibility of the tuberculous etiology may be suggested to allow empirical treatment to be initiated before microbiological confirmation.