Objectives:
To determine the indications and diagnosis encountered in bone mar­row examination from 1998-2004 in a university set-up and referral hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and to com­pare our results to those reported in the local literatures.
Methods:
The bone marrow records from the hematoiogy-pathotogy section of King Abdulaziz University Hospital were re­viewed. The data collected include age, sex, main indication for perform­ing bone marrow examination and pri­mary bone marrow diagnosis.
Results:
There were a total of 1023 bone marrow specimens, 645 (63%) were from adults and 378 (37%) were from children. The M:F ratio was 1.7:1. The three most common indications were suspected leukemia and post-chemotherapy evaluation of bone marrow 20.9%, suspected myelopro-liferative disorders 14.2% and pancy-topenia 14%. The three most com­mon specific diagnoses were acute leukemia 16.5%, aplastic anemia which includes aplasia secondary to chemotherapy for leukemia and lym-phoma 14.3%, and chronic myeioid leukemia 8%.