Abstract / Summary
Abstract Background Bone marrow aspiration is important for diagnosing hematological and non-hematological diseases and evaluating treatment response. Conventional puncture relies on palpation of surface landmarks, which depends on operator skill and patient anatomy. In obese patients, unclear landmarks may increase failure risk. Bleeding is the most common complication, though other serious complications have been reported. Ultrasound can clearly depict the bone cortex and surrounding soft tissues. This study aims to explore the safety and efficacy of ultrasound-guided bone marrow aspiration and detail the procedure, providing interventional radiologists with a practical reference for performing this technique in patients with challenging landmarks referred from haematology departments. Methods This study enrolled 44 consecutive patients who underwent ultrasound-guided bone marrow aspiration at Sichuan Cancer Hospital between May 2023 and August 2024. No patients were excluded. All procedures were performed under local anesthesia. The primary outcomes observed were the technical success rate, procedure duration, intraoperative pain score, bone marrow sampling success rate, and the incidence of puncture-related complications. Intraoperative pain was assessed via the visual analog scale. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Continuous variables are presented as the mean ± standard deviation and categorical variables as frequencies and percentages. Results A total of 44 patients were included in the study. All patients successfully underwent ultrasound-guided bone marrow aspiration under local anesthesia, achieving a technical success rate of 100%. The mean procedure duration was 10.55 ± 2.88 min. Patients tolerated the procedure well, with a mean intraoperative visual analog scale pain score of 23.75 ± 5.40 mm. The bone marrow sampling success rate was 100%, and no complications related to the bone marrow puncture were observed. Conclusions Ultrasound serves as a useful guiding modality that enables precise localization of the posterior superior iliac spine and ensures adequate sample collection. In this cohort, it was observed to be a safe and effective bedside tool for interventional radiologists, particularly in patients with challenging surface landmarks referred from haematology departments. However, these preliminary, uncontrolled findings require comparative confirmation. Clinical trial number Not applicable.