AAP News Vol. 14 No. 7 July 1998, p. 2
© 1998 American Academy of Pediatrics
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kemp, C.
Right arrow Articles by Zanzola, L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Unnecessary bone marrow aspiration

Carla Kemp and Luann Zanzola

Painful, expensive bone marrow aspiration is not necessary to rule out leukemia and confirm a diagnosis of typical acute idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), Canadian researchers reported.

Of the 7,612 bone marrow aspirations performed between 1984 and 1996 on children ages 6 months to 18 years at a Toronto children's hospital, 484 (6.4 percent) were to confirm a provisional diagnosis of ITP.

During the same period, 672 children were admitted with a primary diagnosis of acute ITP. Thus, approximately 72 percent of children with ITP underwent bone marrow aspiration, researchers reported.