Correlation between bone marrow cytology, imprint, and biopsy in pancytopenia – A study in a tertiary care center in Eastern India

Abstract

Background: Bone marrow examination is a vital and indispensable part for the diagnosis of hematological and non-hematological disorders. For a complete diagnosis bone marrow aspirate (BMA), imprint and biopsy must be correlated including peripheral blood examination and clinical findings so that a definite opinion could be made. Aims and Objectives: The objective of the study is to know the correlation between bone marrow cytology, imprint, and biopsy in cases of pancytopenia. Materials and Methods: A total of 121 cases presenting with pancytopenia in whom BMA, imprint, and biopsy were done were retrospective analyzed in the study. BMAs and touch imprints were stained by Leishman’s stain. Perls’ stain and cytochemical stain as required were done on BMAs, and biopsies were fixed with 10% neutral formalin and slides were stained with hematoxylin/eosin and reticulin stain. Results: Correlation between aspirate and biopsy was 78.8% and that of bone marrow imprint and biopsy were 85.3%. The most common diagnosis was aplastic anemia followed by acute leukemia. Conclusion: BMA, imprint, and biopsy are complementary to each other and if performed together result in high rate of diagnostic accuracy.