A characteristic sound guiding successful bone marrow samplings

Objectives Bone marrow (BM) sampling has traditionally been carried out bedside using a blind method; however, in some countries, this approach is being replaced by image-guided methods because of technical uncertainty. Image-guided sampling is costly and problematic for addressing common emergent needs. We present a characteristic sound that is audible when BM sampling needles correctly enter the BM cavity and examine whether this sound helps achieve successful BM samplings. Methods The characteristic sound was shared with investigators. Then, we prospectively examined how often this sound was audible to the human ears during BM aspirations and biopsies performed bedside by an experienced hematologist using the blind method. Results Among 279 BM samplings, adequate BM samples were obtained on the first attempt in 244 procedures, of which the characteristic sound was audible in 217 (88.9%). When the first attempts did not yield adequate samples, a second attempt was immediately performed in the same patients. In cases where neither the characteristic sound nor adequate samples were observed during the first sampling, all second attempts accompanied by the characteristic sound yielded adequate samples (12/12 cases). Conclusions The presented sound provides a useful guide for achieving successful BM samplings, even without image guidance.