ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year : 2017  |  Volume : 10  |  Issue : 1  |  Page : 51-57

A study of megakaryocyte morphology in bone marrow aspiration smears of cases of thrombocytopenia


Department of Pathology, Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Correspondence Address:
Dr. Shashikala Vinayakamurthy
Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Bengaluru - 560 066, Karnataka
India
Login to access the Email id

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/0975-2870.197922

Rights and Permissions

Background: Thrombocytopenia may be encountered in various hematological and nonhematological conditions and may be associated with dysplastic megakaryocytes which is a feature of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), even though they can be observed in non-MDS hematological conditions. Objective: To study the morphological variations of megakaryocytes on bone marrow aspiration smears in non-MDS-related thrombocytopenia in a Medical College in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Materials and Methods: It was a prospective study of 86 cases of non-MDS thrombocytopenia whose bone marrow aspirates were studied morphologically. Results: The most common cause of thrombocytopenia was acute leukemia followed by other systemic malignancies, megaloblastic anemia, and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. Both dysplastic and nondysplastic features were observed in the above-mentioned conditions. The most common dysplastic feature was nuclear segmentation followed by micromegakaryocytes and hypogranular forms. Among nondysplastic features, the most common were immature forms, bare nuclei, and hypolobation. Emperipolesis and cytoplasmic vacuoles were noted in a case of pyrexia of unknown origin. Conclusion: Dysplastic megakaryocytes are common in non-MDS-related thrombocytopenia and their mere presence should not lead to the diagnosis of MDS. Hence, proper diagnosis should be made on megakaryocyte morphology, patient's clinical findings, and other hematological parameters. This understanding can improve the diagnostic accuracy for wide range of hematological disorders.


[FULL TEXT] [PDF]*
Print this article     Email this article
 Next article
 Previous article
 Table of Contents

 Similar in PUBMED
   Search Pubmed for
   Search in Google Scholar for
 Related articles
 Citation Manager
 Access Statistics
 Reader Comments
 Email Alert *
 Add to My List *
 * Requires registration (Free)
 

 Article Access Statistics
    Viewed31534    
    Printed199    
    Emailed0    
    PDF Downloaded1047    
    Comments [Add]    
    Cited by others 2    

Recommend this journal